Chilean President Sebastian Pinera pledged Monday to work with "maximum urgency" on a bill that would grant constitutional recognition to the country's indigenous groups.

Pinera also announced the creation of an indigenous peoples' council that fully represents "their history, traditions, culture" and via which "they could raise their strong and clear voice about their future."

The remarks were made amid renewed conflict between the government and the Mapuche, the largest indigenous group in the country with a population of 800,000 and accounting for 6 percent of Chile's total.

Three weeks ago, two land owners were killed by radical supporters of the Mapuche people in southern Chile.

If being approved by the congress, the bill will recognize the rights of the ethnic groups and the government's obligations toward them.