The recognition of the rights of indigenous peoples in Chile is reviewed, from the stage of independence to the promulgation of the indigenous law in 1993. It points out the various ideological contexts and historical events that explain how the varied ethnicities of the north and south of the country have gone from contradictory processes of assimilation, integration, exclusion to recognition not only legally but also in their anthropological contribution to the Chilean nationThis article reviews the recognition of Chilean indigenous people’s rights from the independence stage to the passing of the indigenous law in 1993. Several ideological contexts and historic events are referred to explaining how the country’s varying southern and northern ethnic groups have gone from contradictory processes of assimilation, integration and exclusion to not only legal recognition but also recognition of their anthropological contribution to the Chilean nation