The present work aims to analyse some legal concepts relating to indigenous peoples included in the Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention, 1989 (No. 169) of the International Labour in order to determine if those concepts have the same legal meaning in the Bolivian law. To this aim, we will examine the evolution of the international and national legal framework of the indigenous peoples, as well as selected terminology. We will apply a functionalist methodology for analysis in order to compare the terminology employed in international documents such as the Convention of the ILO and the handbooks of this organisation, as well as in national documents, such as the 2009 Political Constitution of the Plurinational State of Bolivia and the instruments that stem from the latter. We will study the term proposed in this Constitution which is said to reflect the reality of this country.