Title: Indigenous peoples in Chile

Authors: Leo-Paul Dana

Addresses: University of Canterbury, Private Bag 4800, Christchurch, New Zealand

Abstract: This paper gives an overview of Indigenous Peoples in Chile, their self-employment activities and struggle to survive. In the Mapuche economy, the economic unit is not the entrepreneur but the family. While each family works for itself, in the context of a capitalist system, some enterprising tasks are done communally. Meanwhile, self-employed Aymara farmers have developed very sophisticated strategies to protect themselves from unnecessary risk. Across Chile, agricultural self-employment by indigenous people is often supplemented by subsistence fishing and hunting.

Keywords: indigenous entrepreneurship; South America; Chile; Aymara; Mapuche economy; farming; self-employment; native people; agriculture; subsistence fishing; subsistence hunting; family unit.

DOI: 10.1504/IJESB.2006.010933

International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business, 2006 Vol.3 No.6, pp.779 - 786

Published online: 18 Sep 2006 *

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