Chile's police have killed the son of a Mapuche leader. Mapuche is an indigenous tribe in Chile. Indigenous people in Chile, like most of the indigenous people in the world, have been victims of colonialism.

Chilean state forces including the police are very hostile to the indigenous people.

The incident gives a blow to the attempts of improving relations between the Chilean State and the indigenous people.

Chile is in the process of drafting a new constitution to counter the current constitution's influence which has been a long-used weapon to promote indigenous and class injustice in the country.

The shooting happened when the indigenous group hindered a forest company. Indigenous people have claimed for decades that their territory has been illegally requisitioned by agriculture and forestry companies acting with state complicity.

The victim was Ernesto Llaitul, 26, according to the media reports citing the Chilean prosecutor's office. He was the son of Hector Llaitul, a Mapuche leader described as a spokesperson for the activist group Coordinadora Arauco - Malleco.

Ernesto Llaitul was also identified as the victim in a statement on Twitter by Mijael Carbone Queipul, the leader of another local group, the Mapuche Territorial Alliance.