INNOVATION IN INDIGENOUS EDUCATION: AN ETHNOGRAPHIC APPROACH OF A BANIWA SCHOOL

Abstract

This project is part of a research group oriented by the following problem: In what aspects has indigenous school education overtaken the colonialist character of schooling? Without the identification of such aspects, the elaboration, implementation, and evaluation of educational policies appropriate to the characteristics and needs of indigenous peoples will be devoid of foundation. Ethnographic-based fieldworks of our team have been carrying out in the last five years, in the region of the upper Rio Negro, AM, where is located Cabari community, populated mostly by Baniwa as well Kuripako ethnic groups. They focused on the hypothesis that overcoming colonial schooling occurs, but even with the advancement of research, a sufficient response to the main problem is not yet available. We confirmed that this overrun occurred in that region, although it is not yet known at what scale this occurred, because it is a very large area. Therefore, Cabari community is where this research is focused. It has already been observed that there is a convergence between the knowledge studied in local school and the future aspirations in Cabari community. This project intends to add a contribution to the research problem, focusing on the choice of knowledge to teach in Cabari’s basic school and its identification as a practice of educational innovation. In order to reach a broader picture of changes that may occur in indigenous school education, this time the research will show how some topics such as literacy, local and sustainable development have been appropriated by Cabari school.