Bringing Indigenous Perspectives into CSR

The Mapuche worldview, deeply rooted in nature and spirituality, emphasizes the interconnectedness of all life. In Mapudungun (the Mapuche language), Mapuche means "people of the land," reflecting their deep relationship with nature. Known as kimün, their belief system sees life as continuous cycle where humans must live in harmony with nature’s spirits, ngens, requesting their permission before using natural resources, such as water or forests. Humans are seen as an integral part of the natural and spiritual world, rather than separate or superior to it.

Since the 19th-century annexation of their lands, the Mapuche have been fighting for their rights, with their resistance often tied to environmental issues. A recent conflict centered on a hydropower project in Currarehue, Chile. While the project was promoted as environmentally friendly, it threatened the Mapuche's spiritual harmony. Their resistance was not just about protecting the land but also about defending their cultural and spiritual identity.

A recent paper titled "Repoliticizing spirituality: A collaborative autoethnography on Indigenous identity dynamics during an environmental conflict," (Human Relations, 2024), co-authored with Mapuche Indigenous leader Simón Loncopán, narrates the defense of the territory/community of Lof Txankura (Currarehue, Chile) against the siting of a green hydropower dam and its Community Benefits Sharing Agreement. In this article, we introduce the concept of repoliticized spirituality, which emerges as Indigenous and colonized communities mobilize to safeguard their ancestral lands and spiritual practices from external threats like megaprojects and corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives.

The conflict over the hydropower project, despite its socially progressive and green credentials, catalyzed a resurgence of Mapuche identity rooted in spirituality and resistance. We make a plea for businesses and policymakers to understand and respect Indigenous ontologies and the potential impacts of their projects on Indigenous identities and communities.

CSR and indigenous identity

This research explores how corporate social responsibility (CSR) impacts Indigenous identity. Although CSR initiatives are often designed to promote dialogue and sustainable development, they can unintentionally cause internal divisions within Indigenous communities, especially through community benefit-sharing mechanisms. However, as demonstrated by the Mapuche's resistance to the hydropower project, these initiatives can also strengthen Indigenous identity.

Our study uses collaborative autoethnography to highlight the importance of understanding Indigenous ontologies when engaging with CSR. It suggests that businesses should adopt a "two-eyed seeing" approach, recognizing both Indigenous and Western knowledge systems. This, in turn, would allow companies to understand the profound impact their projects might have on Indigenous social fabrics and identities. Our paper calls for businesses and policymakers to exercise humility and responsibility when interacting with Indigenous communities, ensuring that their initiatives do not further erode the cultural and spiritual identities of these groups.

A decolonial perspective

Mapuche scholars and activists advocate for decolonial research methodologies that avoid exploitative academic practices. One such method is collaborative autoethnography, where Indigenous voices lead the process. This approach values the co-creation of knowledge and reflects Indigenous paradigms of interconnectedness and relational accountability. It directly challenges Eurocentric frameworks while promoting the resurgence of Indigenous knowledge as a form of resistance. This story of resistance against the hydropower project revolves around the Mapuche community's efforts to protect their ancestral lands from external forces that sought to impose a megaproject in their territory.

Simón, appointed werkén (spokesperson and second-in-command to the Lonko) at 18 years old, became the face of the resistance. Although the Mapuche community operates with a hierarchical structure, decisions were made collectively, with all members having the opportunity to voice their opinions during meetings. Protests, alliances with other groups, and the support of external researchers brought visibility to their struggle.

The hydropower project divided the community, once united through mutual support, such as bartering goods like chickens and eggs. However, the company behind the project exacerbated divisions, influencing the evangelical Mapuche Christians to support the project, labeling it as a "gift from God." This created tensions between those who followed traditional Mapuche beliefs and the evangelicals, fracturing families and sparking internal violence.

The resistance not only strained the mental and physical health of the community members but also took a toll on family life. Members of Simón’s group experienced sleep disorders, stress, and additional burdens on household tasks. The conflict became so deeply embedded that one key ally, a healer knowledgeable in traditional medicine, passed away under circumstances believed to be linked to the spiritual harm caused by the conflict.

The repoliticization of spirituality

One of the most significant outcomes of the resistance was the strengthening of Mapuche identity, particularly through the repoliticization of spirituality. As the community faced external pressure, members, including those who had converted to evangelical Christianity, returned to their ancestral roots, realizing that defending the land was not just an environmental battle but a spiritual and political one. This reconnection with Mapuche traditions, symbolized by the placement of ceremonial structures, was seen as an act of political defiance against the megaproject.

The resistance group refused to engage in dialogue with the hydropower company or those within the community who supported it. Simón explained that the group could not negotiate or compromise on their principles, as doing so would mean betraying their identity and spirituality. Despite the company's attempts to make the project more "environmentally friendly" and use engineering solutions to minimize physical harm, the Mapuche viewed the socio-spiritual impacts as irreparable. The company's failure to grasp the deeper, spiritual connection the Mapuche had with their land led to its eventual failure.

Paradoxically, the megaproject, which initially weakened social cohesion, ultimately made the community stronger. The conflict created a renewed sense of unity, as they learned from other global resistance movements and strengthened their cultural and spiritual identity. This renewed solidarity became a powerful force against the project, as they refused to sell out or be swayed.

Simón undertook a project to map the territory according to the Mapuche worldview. This map represented spiritual and cosmological elements unique to their land, illustrating how deeply identity is tied to territory for the Mapuche. It became a tool for visualizing the spiritual, political, and cultural aspects of the resistance, further underscoring that the fight was about much more than land—it was about preserving their very identity.

Through these phases, the story of this community's resistance is a testament to the intertwining of spirituality, identity, and politics in their struggle against modern extractive projects. Spirituality, far from being passive or solely personal, becomes an active, insurgent force guiding their resistance.

Transcending traditional CSR practices

The discussion and conclusion of this study emphasize the impact of corporate social responsibility (CSR) on the dynamics of Indigenous identity work, highlighting how a decolonial collective identity emerges in the face of contested CSR initiatives, particularly in conflicts surrounding land and water. The research showcases the resurgence of Indigenous spirituality as a vital element in collective identity formation and resistance, a process that challenges colonial-modern paradigms and reconnects Indigenous groups, like the Mapuche, with their ancestral ways of life.

The study contributes to the broader literature on CSR and Indigenous resistance by theorizing that the repoliticization of spirituality transcends typical Western frameworks of ethics and responsibility. Instead of viewing spirituality as a passive cultural element, spirituality has an active force guiding Indigenous resistance. This reconceptualization challenges the dualisms of nature-culture and individual-community that underpin Western approaches to CSR and environmental governance.

From a practical standpoint, greater respect for Indigenous ontologies in CSR and business practices is to be expected. Successful intercultural dialogue requires businesses and policymakers to genuinely engage with Indigenous ways of knowing, rather than imposing Western frameworks. Collaborative practices, such as counter-map making, are proposed as potential tools to foster mutual understanding between Indigenous communities and businesses, especially in non-extractive projects like ecotourism and conservation.

Through collaborative autoethnography, this research contributes to decolonizing academic practices and promotes epistemic justice, offering a model for more inclusive and respectful research methodologies. By reminding of the long-term consequences of CSR conflicts, we stress the importance of genuine, respectful engagement with Indigenous communities to prevent the social and cultural damage that often persists long after companies have left.

The author is research professor of the Department of Strategy and Leadership at EGADE Business School.