Abstract

Chile is an intercultural country. It is shared by mestizos, ten native peoples, the Afro-descendant tribal population and a growing number of migrants, especially from other Latin American countries. However, the Chilean constitution does not recognise this ethno-cultural diversity. This non-recognition has a strong impact on social policies, which display a lack of ethnic specificity except for intercultural health policies. Indigenous people face clear social, economic, political and even legal disadvantages. Chilean social work therefore has an obligation to address these gaps and improve living conditions but, above all, to recognise human rights that have been historically violated. One possible way for the discipline to meet this challenge is to publicise the experiences of intercultural health policies implemented in Chile and to show the significance of ageing in place. In this chapter, we offer the results of a study of 2492 older people, 77% of whom are indigenous, who live in rural and native areas. We examine how they maintain their cultural health practices (e.g., care with an indigenous doctor) and how doing so, combined with allopathic treatment, impacts on well-being in old age. Finally, we identify challenges for policy and for intercultural social work practice.