Práticas de resistência e protagonismo de mulheres indígenas apinayé: da escola ao ensino superior

Abstract

The objective of this study, which investigated the resistance and protagonism practices of Apinayé indigenous women (Macro-Jê), was to verify how Apinayé indigenous women express power and resistance in the schooling process and in higher education. Therefore, it was necessary to characterize the social and political condition of Apinayé indigenous women; to identify the social struggles experienced by these women in their relations with non-indigenous society in the struggle to guarantee rights; and to identify the main challenges experienced in the schooling process and in higher education. Methodologically, it is characterized as a Case Study of the Ethnographic Type, whose approach is qualitative, carried out with four Apinayé indigenous women from the villages Aldeinha, Botica and Cipozal, located in the Apinayé Indigenous Land, in the northern state of Tocantins. Semi-structured interviews and the questionnaire were used as data collection instruments. The study presents the Decolonial perspective as a critical theoretical basis for reflection and makes approximations with Decolonial Feminism. The results of the study show that many things have changed since the acceptance of Apinayé women's voices in the villages. They are increasingly aware of their strength and representation and have occupied a prominent place in decisions regarding the improvement of the quality of life of their people. The main challenges experienced in the schooling process and in higher education were displacement to cities, linguistic boundaries, prejudice and discrimination from non-indigenous society and difficulties in associating studies with the duties of an indigenous woman.