IX National Meeting of Indigenous Students starts on Tuesday (26)

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audio description: enei logoWith the theme “Ancestry and contemporaneity”, the IX National Meeting of Indigenous Students (ENEI) begins on Tuesday (26). More than 2 university students will meet at the event, which takes place at Unicamp until July 29th. Workshops, debates, thematic symposiums, cultural and training activities are part of the program, which brings together indigenous intellectuals, activists and artists.

“Students will come from all regions of the country. They will be welcomed, and we will share our knowledge based on learning from the villages and the University. Our knowledge is also a source to be shared. This is what we expect from this ENEI”, comments Unicamp History student Vera Lúcia, from the Tukano ethnic group.

audio description: montage with two color photographs; one by indigenous student Vera Lúcia and the other by student Arlindo Baré
Unicamp students Arlindo Baré and Vera Lúcia are part of the organization of the event (photo: Antoninho Perri / personal collection)

With a record number of registrants, the size of the event is the result of a mobilization by the organization, according to Arlindo Baré, an Electrical Engineering student at Unicamp. “ENEI has taken on a great dimension due to the moment we are living in and the partnerships we have sought, bringing information to indigenous students throughout Brazil”.

Event to exchange knowledge

ENEI has been held since 2013. Since the first edition, at the Federal University of São Carlos (UFSCar), the event has taken place in different higher education institutions. This year, Unicamp hosts the meeting, which should be recorded in the history of the indigenous student movement. This is because, in addition to the high number of registrations, dozens of indigenous leaders will attend, including Sonia Guajajara, Daniel Munduruku, Almir Suruí and Valdelice Kaiowá. Furthermore, thematic symposiums were organized with the presentation of academic works.

“ENEI brings richness through the meeting of different peoples and shows that we are protagonists of our knowledge. We want to combine our knowledge with that of academia. It is necessary to occupy, village and demarcate this space called university, because today our fight is not only with the bow and arrow, but also with the pen”, highlights Unicamp Social Sciences student Marcela Torres, from the Pankararu ethnic group.

audio description: montage with two color photographs; one from the student regilane guajajara and the other from the student iaponã guajajara
Regilane Guajajara and Iaponâ Guajajara highlight the exchange of knowledge that ENEI provides (photos: Antoninho Perri)

The theme of the event, “Ancestry and Contemporaneity”, reflects the need for ancestral knowledge to be recognized in the dynamics and problems of the modern world and, particularly, in academia, as highlighted by the Social Sciences student at Unicamp Iaponâ Ferreira Guajajara. “Our perspective is an in-depth debate regarding the topic of ancestry and contemporaneity, which involves strangeness, impacts and pointing out that universities can also learn from us. It is the exchange of knowledge and the transversality of worlds that leads to the strengthening of this bond”, he says.

Studying Psychology at the Federal University of the South and Southeast of Pará (Uniffespa), Regilane Guajajara has already arrived at Unicamp to participate in the organization of the Meeting. A member of the organization team, she highlights the importance of valuing the knowledge of the country's original peoples. “We are masters and doctors within our own culture, and what we learn outside the villages also serves to help our people.” 

Forums discuss education, health and environment

The discussion on public policies for indigenous people in higher education is, as usual, one of the central axes of the event. The sharing of experiences between students enables the joint articulation of important policies, such as student retention.

“The exchange of experiences has helped. When we, indigenous people, enter university and have to adapt to it, it is very difficult, because our customs and traditions are different. But just as we have to adapt to the university, it also has to adapt to our plurality”, says Regilane.

The topic of permanence will be discussed during the thematic forum “The current scenario of permanence policies”. Two other forums make up the program: “Health of indigenous academics” and “Environment and sustainability”.

Threats to original peoples under debate

audio description: color photograph of indigenous student Marcela Torres
“Mother Earth asks for help, and ENEI also brings this message", says Unicamp Social Sciences student, Marcela Torres Pankararu (photo: personal collection)

The discussions about the threats to the original peoples of Brazil and their resistance encompass important themes that were also present at the meeting. Among them, the attempt to implement a time frame for the demarcation of indigenous lands and the increasing invasions of territories. The Marco Temporal thesis argues that indigenous people can only claim the lands they occupied on October 5, 1988.

“It is important to bring up the issue of the Temporal Framework to debate the massacre it represents. If approved, indigenous peoples will be expelled from their villages, which will be commercialized. Our territories are already being invaded by farmers, miners and others”, points out Marcela.

For the student, protecting indigenous territories is important not only for the original peoples, but for all of humanity, which is currently experiencing a climate and environmental crisis. “Mother Earth asks for help, and ENEI also brings this message. We protect the Earth not just for indigenous peoples, but for everyone. We call on humanity to wake up, so that they can also be protectors of the Earth, because there may come a time when there will be no more water, forests, anything. So, what does the next generation look like?”

Cultural programming includes theater, fair and music

audio description: color photography
The Unicamp Arena Theater received indigenous graphics to host the activities (photo: Antoninho Perri)

Theater and musical presentations make up the cultural activities of the IX ENEI, which also features a craft and clothing fair and the participation of DJ Alok in a conversation circle.

Unicamp supports the meeting. One of the support bodies is the Advisory Committee for Academic Inclusion and Participation of Indigenous Peoples (CAIAPI) of the Executive Directorate of Human Rights (DeDH).

Professor Chantal Medaets, member of CAIAPI, declares that receiving the ENEI will be a unique moment for the University. “Several themes emerge, take shape and gain visibility in ENEI. For Unicamp, it will be a very important moment, with discussions taking place at a national level, about the dialogue of knowledge and how academia should recognize non-academic knowledge”.

The meeting schedule is entirely free and can be accessed on the event page: enei-evento.com.br

Also check out what the pre IX ENEI was like, which took place virtually in 2021: 

Indigenous researchers guide the recognition and need for their knowledge in academia

Research, permanence and mobilization are discussed at an indigenous student event

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audio description: color photograph of three indigenous students, two men and one woman, standing on the arena theater stage; The floor of the arena theater is painted with indigenous graphics and has written, in paint: "IX ENEI"

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Writer and columnist, the sociologist was president of the National Association of Postgraduate Studies and Research in Social Sciences in the 2003-2004 biennium