This study examines the conflict between indigenous rights and the exploitation of land in Chile. The conflict is displayed through a public discourse about the recognition of the indigenous people on the one hand, and the application of the anti-terrorist law against the indigenous people on the other. The anti-terrorist law is currently applied to the indigenous group, the Mapuches, in southern Chile, which makes this issue particularly acute. The role of the international community and the international laws surrounding this issue thus play a part in the conclusions made by the author, together with minority rights and the concepts of sovereignty and terrorism. The case is further placed within the world-economy through the concepts of World System Theory by Immanuel Wallerstein.