Indigenous school education in the Mendonça Potiguara Territory
Ethnography; Mendonça Territory; Indigenous School Education; Rio Grande do Norte
The present dissertation aims to present an ethnography of indigenous school education, based on the indigenous schools located in the community of Amarelão, namely: Escola Estadual Indígena de Ensino Fundamental e Médio Professor Francisco Silva do Nascimento and Escola Municipal Professora Alice Soares, belonging to the Mendonça family group, located in the Municipality of João Câmara in the State of Rio Grande do Norte. An ethnography is being carried out, with the participation and involvement of the author himself with the investigated community, presenting dialogues with indigenous teachers and other interlocutors who form the educational community. In addition, the documentation from which these school units were constituted is being evaluated. Thus, it has as results the advancement of public policies directed to indigenous people, such as the creation of the Commission for the Elaboration of the Indigenous School Policy of Rio Grande do Norte, to guide the specific public policies for indigenous education in the state. Therefore, it is necessary to question the relationship between culture, society, and school. This is because indigenous school education differs significantly from traditional schooling, since the learning process of these people has to go hand in hand with the strengthening of cultural identity.