The rector of Unicamp, professor Antonio José de Almeida Meirelles, signed this Wednesday (9), alongside mayor Dario Saadi, a letter of intent called “Alliance Between Us” — which aims to be the first step towards the creation of a Municipal Support Plan for Indigenous People in an Urban Context in the city of Campinas.
The idea of the plan is to create a broad support network for this population, who, in general, suffer from a lack of assistance and have little or no access to public services. Unicamp was invited by the City Hall to participate in the Alliance due to the Indigenous Entrance Exam and other affirmative actions that have been developed at the university to serve this population.
According to 2022 data from IBGE (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics), there is a population of 1.569 individuals in Campinas who declared themselves indigenous and who reported having residence in the city.
The data, however, is contested by the Guarani M´Bya leadership, Lu Ahmy M´Bya, director of the Coletivo and Ponto de Cultura EtnoCidade, which since 2018 has worked to welcome and support indigenous people who travel through the Metropolitan Region of Campinas.
According to her, the number is out of date. “Today we have close to 3 thousand indigenous people in Campinas”, stated Ahmy. “We have records of individuals from 40 ethnicities, who speak 20 different languages”, he added.
Originally from the Guarani M´Bya ethnic group, who live on the south coast of São Paulo, Lu Ahmy has been in Campinas for six years and says the number of itinerants is large. “More than a thousand itinerants have already passed through Etno. People from the Kariri-xocó, Fulni-ô, Piratepuia, Ticuna, Tukano and many other ethnicities,” he reveals.
Lu Ahmy says that the creation of a reception plan represents a lot for the indigenous population living in the city and region. “We see that there are a lot of people arriving and we need this (official) support, because our arms are no longer holding it,” she says. According to Ahmy, the collective began to do this welcoming work with the support of partner entities from civil society. “Now we are expanding this partnership with the Human Rights Secretariat, with Education, and we want to thank you very much for your welcome”, he concluded.
World Indigenous Peoples Day
The signing of the Letter of Intent and the launch of the Plan coincide with the Municipal Day of Indigenous Peoples, celebrated in Campinas on August 9, in accordance with a municipal law approved in 2020. In addition to the mayor and the rector, the letter was signed by representatives of three municipal departments (Culture, Human Rights and Economic Development), by councilor Gustavo Petta, author of the law, and by leaders of indigenous populations.
The ceremony opened with a song. Members of different ethnicities sang the “Call to the Great Spirit” — a religious song of Kariri-Xocó origin. Pataxó leader Awa M'barete presented the mayor with a set of bows, arrows and a maraca. Representatives of the Association and Pontão de Cultura Areté, Circuito Cultura Viva and Tatu Cultural also participated in the Plan launch ceremony.
“Despite the growth of the indigenous community in our municipality, especially since 2019, with the beginning of the quota program for indigenous people at Unicamp — which annually receives more than 100 new indigenous academics from all regions of the country, totaling around 400 academics —, It is undeniable that these individuals still face a series of challenges when migrating to large urban centers such as the city of Campinas”, says an excerpt from the letter.
“Our Alliance aims to promote the sustainability of the indigenous ecosystem in our city, creating real opportunities for these communities to prosper and contribute even more to building a better future”, continues the document.
For Mayor Dario Saadi, the Plan is a form of reparation. “It is an honor to sign this letter which, without a doubt, will help pay off the country’s historic debt to its native peoples,” said the mayor. According to him, the Working Group that will prepare the plan will be composed of representatives from various municipal departments and civil society.
Indigenous Entrance Exam
The dean of Unicamp said that the University took up the affirmative action agenda with intensity and that the Indigenous Entrance Exam is an example of this. “Unicamp arrived at the quota policy a little late, but it took on this agenda with extreme intensity. Today, most of our students come from public schools, and many are black and brown. Unicamp also has an important feature of holding the entrance exam where the majority of the indigenous population is,” he said.
“And this has caused a huge change at the University, as it is a two-way process. The University is learning to live harmoniously with diversity”, he assesses.
Meirelles says that strengthening the support network for original peoples is a topic that overcomes possible political differences. “This is one of the agendas that overlap with possible political differences and become something truly transformative”, concluded the rector.
The 2023 Indigenous Entrance Exam — carried out jointly by Unicamp and the Federal University of São Carlos — had a record 3.480 applicants. According to the Permanent Commission for Unicamp Entrance Exams, almost 80% of those enrolled lived in the state of Amazonas (79,7%). Among the ethnicities declared by the candidates, the majority are Ticuna (28%), followed by the Baré (17%) and Tukano (7%) ethnicities.
Read the letter of intent:
Check out other images from the “Alliance Between Us” signing ceremony:
