The school is established in colonized territories as a monocultural educational device, where a specific type of knowledge is presented as valid and necessary for social development. In this context, scientific knowledge is positioned at a higher hierarchy than indigenous knowledge. Recognizing the negative consequences of this approach, international policies promote intercultural educational frameworks. In line with this perspective, the teaching of natural sciences should be approached from an intercultural epistemological pluralism standpoint. This article aims to describe the positions of scientism and intercultural epistemological pluralism present in the teaching of natural sciences in schools located in the Mapuche territory. An ethnographic study was conducted, including participant observation and interviews in two rural schools in the La Araucanía region. Participants included natural science teachers, school principals, and heads of technical-pedagogical units. The information was analyzed using grounded theory methods: open coding, axial coding, and the constant comparative method. As a result, schematic paradigms were developed that account for the presence of both a scientistic stance and an intercultural epistemological pluralism. It is concluded that contradictory positions coexist regarding the teaching of natural sciences from an intercultural perspective.
