Work

The Intertidal Zone of the Chiloé Archipelago (Chile): Tensions Between Williche Eco-Ontological Conservation and Other Actors: A Situated Ethnographic Dialogue

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: This study reviews the ontological and worldview dimensions of the Williche indigenous people who inhabit the coasts of the Chiloé archipelago in southern Chile, whose effects are beneficial for coastal human, but also for non-human populations in the intertidal zone and on the beach. These dimensions act by mediating people's behaviour when implemented as a long-standing traditional custom in a practical way (e.g. gathering or fishing), mitigating the potential negative impacts on the environment. Although there exist regulations that protect these areas, their cultural heritage and ancestral techniques, they differ substantially from the actions and effects of other territorial actors aimed at the exploitation of nature. This research simultaneously employs a methodology based on classical ethnographic techniques and an autoethnography carried out by one of the authors of this article, who identifies herself as Wapiche, a Williche islander.

Source: Heritage

DOI: 10.3390/heritage9020066

Authors: Ricardo Álvarez, Daniela Leviñanco, Isabel Yáñez, Isabel Cartajena

Institutions: Austral University of Chile, Universidad de Los Lagos, University of Chile

Language: English

Topic: Environmental and Cultural Studies in Latin America and Beyond

Subfield: Ecology

Field: Environmental Science

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $1,930

Funder: Agencia Nacional de Investigación y Desarrollo