Indigenous people protest against poor education

In a demonstration staged today (Oct 29) outside the Palácio do Planalto, the seat of the Brazilian government, indigenous teachers urged President Dilma Rousseff to meet the guidelines for indigenous education as laid out in the Federal Constitution. The leaders of the protest complained about lacking school infrastructure and non-compliance with the law, which stipulates that the government should offer aboriginals an education that respects the values and traditions cherished in their communities.

A delegation made up of indigenous leaders was received at the Palácio for a meeting with government representatives responsible for promoting dialogue with social movements.

Leader Agnaldo Pataxó Hã-Hã-Hãe says their demands range from renovated classrooms to a raise in indigenous teachers' salaries. “MEC [the Ministry of Education] has good resolutions, the problem is to put them into practice. Some of our relatives have been studying under trees, in flour mills, under deplorable conditions. Some teachers are paid R$600 [$246.45] a month, and others nothing at all.”

Furthermore, Agnaldo argues, aboriginals are often at the mercy of governors and mayors in spite of the law, which clearly determines that “it is the responsibility of the federal government to provide for indigenous education.”

The Federal Constitution protects the aboriginals' right to an education that respects their cultural and artistic values. It also provides for the use of their mother tongue as well as specially designed learning strategies as part of the conventional teaching system.

Before arriving at the Palácio do Planalto, over 100 indigenous teachers—representing 49 ethnic groups from all over Brazil—gathered at the National Conference of Bishops of Brazil for the launch of the Manifesto on Indigenous Schooling in Brazil – Towards an Education for Decolonization and Freedom. The aim is to enforce their right to special education, and raise awareness about the role of specific teaching strategies for the preservation of the culture and identity of these people.

“Today, the project presented to schools within indigenous communities is identical with the one presented to the non-indigenous system. That's not good for us, because we lose our values, as our own cultural identity is set aside, along with our beliefs and religions,” notes Flauberth Guajajara, a teacher from the Guajajara ethnic group.

In addition to education policies, the aboriginal leaders plan to further urge the government to demarcate indigenous areas during Dilma Rousseff's second administration. “Up to now, most of our territories have not been demarcated, and those who have have still been invaded by traffickers of drugs and ores. Most peoples chose to trust Dilma [Rousseff], but we're not giving up our rights,” the Pataxó leader declared.

Translated by Fabrício Ferreira