This paper examines the “indigenous question” through the lens of education reform within neo-liberal structural and ideological constraints in Southern Chile. Proyecto Kelluwün is set in a rural indigenous community “in conflict” with Chilean political authorities over issues of land rights and local autonomy. This project is the product of recent education reforms that aim to re-focus a system of schooling degraded after 17 years of military rule towards “excellence, equity, and participation.” Theoretically articulated in Freirian terms, Proyecto Kelluwün is aimed at increasing community participation in local educational and political contexts and has articulated itself as a potential force of social change as well as community empowerment and renewal. This paper further interrogates aspects of the seemingly progressive current “post-dictatorship” education project in order that some of the ideological and structural limitations left in place by the neo-liberal changes made during the military dictatorship in Chile may be further brought to light.