He said that in the days after he made the request on May 19, he saw support for and against it split evenly on social media. The disagreement over the flag reflects some of the larger issues that have pitted Mapuches against some Chileans of European descent, a gap that Mr. Coñuepan seeks to bridge.

A year ago, he founded an organization called Fundación Chile Intercultural to promote the rights of Mapuches and to foster a better understanding about their cause among the general population. The focal point of some of the worst disagreements pits Chilean farmers and lumber companies against Mapuche dissidents over long-disputed land rights, and those conflicts have drawn much publicity.

But there have been other more peaceful Mapuche protests surrounding the Copa América. On June 10, a few days before the flag incident, a group of about 40 Mapuche demonstrators temporarily blocked the road on which the Peruvian team bus was traveling from the Temuco airport, forcing the Peruvian players and officials to wait until the demonstration was dispersed. The activists contend that the airport was built on traditional Mapuche land, for which they have not been adequately compensated.

Many of the fans coming to Temuco for the Copa América travel through that airport. Temuco has already hosted two games in the Copa América, and on Thursday it will be the site of a quarterfinal between Bolivia and Peru.

“This is not to disrupt the Copa América, and it is not directed against the Peruvians or the Chilean people,” Coñuepan said through an interpreter. “It is to highlight the problems we face. The Chilean people think, ‘Oh, the Mapuche want a war, the Mapuche want to burn my house, the Mapuche are bad people.’ But our only problem is with the government, not with the farmer or the people.”

A passionate defender of his people’s civil rights, Mr. Coñuepan is also a devoted soccer fan and supporter of Chile’s national team. He noted with pride that some of its players — like the former striker Marcelo Salas and the current midfielder Jean Beausejour — are Mapuche. He also pointed out that the logo for the 2015 Copa América incorporates aspects of the design of the Mapuche flag, even if organizers and political officials refuse to fly it.

But Mr. Coñuepan also turned and pointed to a large statue near the flagpoles in the central square as fans in the red and white of Peru and the yellow of Brazil paraded by and took photographs with it. The statue was intended to commemorate the centuries-long interaction between the Mapuches and the Spanish and their descendants, but some, like Mr. Coñuepan, find it offensive.