Abstract

In this article we analyse the process of identity construction and reconstruction that is oc-curring on the coasts of southern Chile, in the framework of the formal creation of indigenous associations and communities, including the demands of indigenous peoples for marine coastal spaces. Through a study of ethnographic strategies and the specialist literature, we problematise the appearance of indigenous nomenclatures and symbolisms — in particular Mapuche flags — as a political-ideational correlate of this process. We point out that territorial demands in the marine coastal space of southern Chile possess an instrumental aspect that is superimposed on Mapuche identity narratives, and appears to derive more from de-liberate political actions or projects than from a social memory anchored in a historical consciousness of indigenous life.