It began on the afternoon of this Wednesday (28), the pre- IX National Meeting of Indigenous Students (ENEI). With the theme “Ancestry and contemporaneity: Weaving stories from the epistemologies, cosmologies, ontologies and experiences of indigenous peoples”, the IX ENEI will take place in two moments. The pre-meeting, which runs until July 30th, takes place virtually, anticipating debates that will take place at the in-person event, scheduled for 2022 at Unicamp.
The ritual of the Awê Heruê Pataxó group, from Aldeia Boca da Mata (Bahia), opened the pre-meeting. “It is with the strength of the spirit of our ancestry, our enchantment, this beautiful dance and ritual, that we continue the event”, said Unicamp Electrical Engineering student Arlindo Baré, one of the event organizers and responsible for calling the table opening ceremony, composed of the coordinator of the Central Directory of Indigenous Students (DCEIN) at Unicamp, Luma Baré; coordinator of the National Commission for Indigenous Students (CNEI), Viviane Kaingang; executive coordinator of the Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil (APIB) for the southern region, Kretã Kaingang; by the co-deputy of the state of São Paulo and doctoral candidate at USP, Chirley Pankará; and by the rector of Unicamp, Antonio José Meirelles.
After the initial greetings, the event continued with the thematic table entitled “Scientific Methodology and Indigenous Peoples: production of ethnoknowledge”, mediated by the student from the Federal University of São Carlos (UFSCar), Diego Pankararu. The guests invited to address the subject were indigenous intellectuals and activists: Edson Kayapó, professor at the Federal Institute of Bahia (IFBA); Aline Kayapó, graduating in Law from UNIFTC, and Gersom Baniwa, professor at the Federal University of Amazônia (UFAM).
“The academy needs indigenous peoples much more than we, indigenous peoples, need the academy”
Edson Kayapó, writer, doctor in Education and post-doctorate in history and historiography of the Amazon, first shared a little of his academic career, which had as a milestone his admission to the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG) in 1991. “ At that time, quota policies and specific vacancies were very far apart. We were at a time after the promulgation of the 1988 Constitution and still at the front of battles to win some rights. Obviously these days are not peaceful, our relatives who are at universities face many difficulties and many challenges, but it is undeniable that we have made some progress”, he noted.
These advances, according to the professor, are still smaller than one would like, but it is necessary, without losing focus on ancestry and belonging, political and technical articulation so that they do not slip through the fingers. For Edson Kayapó, it is necessary to reach teaching and research centers and appropriate the scientific method so that criticism is possible that leads to overcoming the problems of the academy itself. In this way, it will be possible to rethink the way knowledge is produced. “This does not assume that we are going to adhere to science and the scientific method as is. In fact, we have to criticize this method in the sense of thinking that the truth can be perceived and observed from various perspectives, including from the perspectives of our people, which is not a single perspective”.
Proposing critical interculturality, he questioned why science degraded indigenous knowledge, pointing out the fact that, in the 19th century, scientists defended the inferiority and inability of indigenous peoples to follow national progress. This vision, he pointed out, aligns with epistemicide, a concept by Boaventura dos Santos to designate the extermination of local knowledge brought by Europeans. “The Europeans arrived here with the claim that they were superior from a physical, biological, cultural and knowledge point of view and imposed on our people and ancestors everything they knew as an absolute truth”. From this understanding, he said, it is possible to overcome this vision, demanding knowledge sharing and respectful dialogue.
The professor also pointed out that there is an economic, social and environmental crisis in the world, which has been leading to a war against the Earth. The crisis, he reflected, also affects what is thought in large research and teaching centers, which have not been able to produce knowledge that addresses problems such as environmental devastation and inequalities. In this way, universities have a lot to learn from indigenous peoples. “It is necessary to reverse the direction: the academy needs indigenous peoples much more than we, indigenous peoples, need the academy", he stated.
“We cannot accept that our knowledge is reduced to irrationality”
“How are we going to position ourselves before the academic community?” asked Aline Kayapó, student, researcher, writer and activist in her speech. She recalled that affirmative actions aimed at indigenous people are the result of a lot of struggle by the movement. However, there is still a lot to achieve in the academic space, as universities were not built with indigenous peoples in mind.
Reflections on the notion of scientific impartiality and disrespect for indigenous knowledge were brought by Aline Kayapó. “It is important to say that we cannot place ourselves as research subjects in an impartial way, we do not have the privilege of being impartial. So our theoretical references are most of the time not respected.”
Facing individuality and anti-collectivity, in this sense, is a necessity for her. “I learned that we are administratively Brazilian, politically indigenous, but each one actually belongs. That's what the so-called Brazilian academic society is, it's as if it were Brazilians and us, within a space that was neither created nor designed for us. But we are there and through our struggle, our strength and our movement we managed to gain space in the law that guarantees that we are respected”.
The construction of epistemologies based on indigenous knowledge was a horizon established by Aline Kayapó. “It is not because our knowledge is not considered science that it is irrational and that we will allow them to reduce us to nothing”. Through reflection on what is rational and irrational, she also questioned where rationality is in science, which places man at the center of everything.
The student and activist also indicated the need to think about new perspectives of methodological analysis and a new category of knowledge, “original ancestral knowledge”. “It is important that we produce scientific knowledge that follows our ancestral epistemologies and that does not harm our dignity. This is methodology and for that you need courage. Courage to think about a form of publication, a new category of method analysis. We cannot accept that our knowledge is reduced to irrationality.”
“The university and science are part of the collective struggle strategy”
For Gersom Baniwa, one of the precursors of indigenous education in Brazil, when talking about scientific methodology and the production of ethnoknowledge, it is important to have ancestry as a starting point. “What is ancestry? These are the cultural references, traditions, knowledge, values, ways of life and spirituality that we inherited from our ancestors” he explained. "In this way, ancestry is neither a utopia nor something unreal."
The professor, a graduate in Philosophy, master and doctor in Social Anthropology, placed the entry of indigenous people into universities in the last two decades, stating that the first phase of estrangement and tensions is gradually being overcome. “It doesn't mean that they have passed, I would say that they tend to be maintained or even amplified, depending on what we indigenous people will dictate as a rhythm once inside the university. But this issue of passing the first estrangements and tensions is increasingly consolidating our space at the university”.
From this first phase onwards, he stressed, it is necessary to begin consolidating indigenous contributions to the academic world, access to which can be a strategy for defending the collective guarantee of indigenous rights. “We have a growing number of masters, doctors, graduates, managers, technicians and specialists. We have to think about innovations, transformations, revolutions in academia.”
And what would these contributions be? According to Gersom Baniwa, they are: recognition and use of indigenous languages; affirmation, appreciation, dissemination and promotion of indigenous knowledge systems and regimes; collective research, and appreciation of orality. More than criticism, he said, it is necessary to make a contribution so that universities meet indigenous demands and realities. This can be done by affirming, practicing and living indigenous knowledge, cultures, languages and traditions.
“By doing this we will be competing, promoting, competing for spaces, our ways of producing, transmitting, socializing and using our sciences and knowledge. We have to keep in mind a pedagogical path, which is methodological”. This involves knowing the white world well, but it cannot be to the detriment of indigenous reality. “With this, we will be amplifying, strengthening and complementing our knowledge systems.”
Not allowing oneself to be boxed in by academia, for example carrying out individualized work based on indigenous data that are collective, is one of the perspectives raised by the professor, who also indicated the need to not fall into the dualism of white versus indigenous, knowledge versus traditional. "There is no difference between the importance, the value, the meaning of white science and indigenous science. [...] The university and science are part of the collective strategy of struggle.”
Indigenous students at Unicamp
The rector of Unicamp, Antonio José Meirelles, at the opening of the event, highlighted the importance of the inclusion policy for indigenous students at the University. Despite the difficulties imposed by the pandemic, the professor highlighted that there were more than 1.500 people enrolled in the Indigenous Entrance Exam held in 2021. After the third year of specific admission, the University now has approximately 220 indigenous students.
The presence of students from different indigenous peoples, according to the rector, is of great importance for Unicamp. “It is a way for us to renew our people training agenda, our research agenda, it is a way of enriching our community of other origins with the wisdom, with knowledge, with traditions, with the culture of indigenous peoples . This is increasingly important for our University.”
The professor also criticized the time frame proposal (PL 490/2007), which is being processed in the National Congress, and which intends that indigenous peoples can only claim land demarcation in places where they were in 1988. By fixing the year, the proposal disregards any previous occupation and ignores the violence against indigenous peoples, which led to the expulsion of several communities from their territories.
“In the fight against the time frame, you will always have Unicamp at your side, fighting for what were the great achievements of the recent past, such as the 1988 Constitution and the rights it guaranteed to indigenous peoples. This is a battle that is undoubtedly yours, but it is also ours. We will be alongside defending the rights of original peoples, defending the maintenance of the demarcation of indigenous lands in our country”, he stated.
IX ENEI
The pre-IX National Meeting of Indigenous Students (ENEI) continues until July 30th. On July 29th, the program includes the Waopari Mahsã (People of Karriçu) opening ritual, launch of the event's official art and the themed table “Indigenous Movement, political formation and Self-Determination”. Participating in the discussion are Chirley Pankará (state co-deputy for the activist mandate in the state of SP and doctoral student at USP), Kretã Kaingang (APIB), Almir Suruí (Parlaíndio). The live broadcast starts at 15pm and can be accessed at: https://youtu.be/4iHrntmt3MQ
On July 30th, the opening ritual will be carried out by OZ Guarani and there will be the thematic table “Context of Indigenous Higher Education, Quilombola and Permanence”. Guests from the National Commission of the IX ENEI will participate. The closing of the pre-event will feature a speech by Djuena Tikuna, singer and the first Tikuna journalist from the state of Amazonas. The live broadcast also starts at 15pm, via the link: https://youtu.be/dHgRSRsqJCY
The complete schedule and other information can be accessed on the website enei.ic.unicamp.br. Students also seek financial support to hold the in-person meeting. Find out how to contribute here.
