Prejuicio y discriminación hacia la población indígena en Argentina: una mirada desde la psicología medioambiental.

Since the Spanish colonization of Latin America at the end of the 15th century, indigenous people have been displaced from their lands in an extremely violent manner. Currently, people who belong to indigenous communities in Argentina are subject to prejudice and discrimination, because they are perceived as a threat to Argentine social identity. The aim of this article is to analyze theoretically, from a psycho-environmental perspective, those factors that influence the development of blatant and subtle prejudice towards indigenous people in Argentina. For this, the sense of place that indigenous people give to their lands and how it is related to the attachment that they have towards their territory will be considered. In addition, it is argued that these factors are fundamental for the construction of the social identity of indigenous people. Finally, it is proposed that designing and implementing intervention programs that include a psychoenvironmental perspective based on historical memory and promotion of social peace can help reduce prejudice and discrimination towards indigenous people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]