Old Age, Disability, and Indigenous Peoples: Experiences of Ageing and Social Participation in Southern Chile

This article seeks to characterize the experiences of ageing and social participation of older people with disabilities and those belonging to indigenous peoples, emphasizing the territorial diversity of southern Chile. Following a qualitative and ethnographic methodology, we conducted direct observations and biographical interviews with elderly people from both groups. From an intersectional and biographical theoretical approach to ageing, six narratives were constructed, whose analysis focused on recognizing the intersectionality of ageing, crossing the view of old age with disability, indigenous peoples and territory, in dialogue with other categories of social differentiation. The results show that their life and ageing trajectories are strongly marked by geographic and social factors of the territory, and that the different conditions of disability as well as belonging to indigenous peoples and gender relations have a significant impact on the experiences of old age and social participation.