Being Mapuche today in Chile: judgement criteria for ethnic identification among the new generation

This study seeks to identify the underlying factors that sustain ethnic identification judgements – in this case regarding the Mapuche ethnic group – elaborated by a sample of Chilean young people who live in the Santiago metropolitan region. To this end a factorial survey method was used, incorporating quasi-experimental vignettes, which demonstrate social and individual determinants of human judgements. The results show that both self-identification as Mapuche and last name – particularly the paternal surname – are the criteria considered most relevant to inform judgements about ethnic identity. It is clear that there is a complex idea about what it means to be Mapuche today among young people in Chile, combining both subjective and objective factors. This conjunction shows the narrowness of the constructivist and essentialist proposals for understanding ethnicity.