The 1st State Forum on Indigenous Dialogues was a pioneer in addressing the issue of access and retention of indigenous students at the State University of Maranhão (UEMA).
The year 2024 marks a historic advance for the indigenous community across the various campuses of the State University of Maranhão (UEMA). Through the actions of the Indigenous Program for Permanence and Opportunities at the University (PIPOU), an initiative of the Institute for Society, Population and Nature (ISPN), in partnership with the Vale company, indigenous students were able to engage directly with the UEMA administration to present their specific demands.
The culmination of this rapprochement movement, which involved the active participation of the university's administration, took place in the auditorium of the Center for Applied Social Sciences, on the São Luís campus, on November 5th and 6th, during the 1st State Forum on Indigenous Dialogues at UEMA.
The State Forum was the culmination of the project Indigenous Dialogues at UEMA: Strengthening University Retention, carried out by the Pro-Rectorate for Extension and Student Affairs (PROEXAE). with support from PIPOU. Throughout 2024, four Regional Forums were held on the campuses of São Luís, Barra do Corda, Grajaú, and Santa Inês. All stages of the project were planned and executed by PROEXAE and representatives of the indigenous students, including the development of the proposal and the forum program.
These preliminary meetings served as preparation, both for the students and the UEMA administration, for the 1st State Forum, which brought together 75 indigenous academics to discuss how to overcome various obstacles to remaining in higher education, such as creating strategies to strengthen affirmative action public policies and confronting prejudice and racism. During the event, the indigenous students met face-to-face with the vice-rectors of UEMA to address various demands.
The State Forum on Indigenous Dialogues at UEMA resulted in the formation of a student committee to organize an indigenous student collective, which will be responsible for communication with the university administration. From all the discussions, starting with the regional forums, a document was produced outlining the students' agendas and demands, as well as some recommendations from the university administration. Cristiano Caragiu Guajajara Júnior, a Computer Engineering student at the Federal Institute of Maranhão (IFMA) and a member of the executive team of the Indigenous Dialogues project at UEMA, highlighted the importance of this moment for the academic community.
“We are a minority. We were hardly ever heard within the University. Indigenous students were left out of many programs, projects, and calls for proposals. So, this project facilitated dialogue with the University, with the vice-rectorates, so that we could achieve some progress.” We are living through a historic moment because, from here on out, we are giving rise to an indigenous movement within UEMA, something that didn't exist before. It's a historic moment for all of us indigenous academics, especially at UEMA. We will continue to seek improvements so that the University becomes a welcoming environment for indigenous people.“stated Cristiano Caragiu Guajajara Júnior.
Cristiano Guajajara is an example of how numerous difficulties affect the retention of indigenous students in university. He is a former student of UEMA, also studying Computer Engineering, but chose to take the same course at IFMA, in Santa Inês, more than 200 kilometers from São Luís, due to its proximity to the Rio Pindaré Indigenous Territory, where his family lives. The high cost of maintaining studies far from their territories is one of the obstacles faced by indigenous students, but there are many others.
Participating in the debate, Brenda Guajajara, a Pedagogy student at UEMA, emphasized how distant she thought the possibility of pursuing higher education seemed, but seeing that other young people from her region had succeeded made her feel empowered. “Of course, there are many challenges because it’s an environment we’re not familiar with, it’s totally different from our reality, but when we have the goal of leaving our territory and entering a university, we also have the goal of returning and being able to contribute, so that strengthens us even more.”"That's what Brenda says. The student also highlighted that there are people, professors, within the academic community, who are willing to help and who welcome and guide them, despite reports of prejudice felt within the University, across its various campuses."
The opportunity to discuss these difficulties directly with the university administration was also a milestone for another student, Regiane dos Santos Guajajara, who is pursuing an Intercultural Degree through the Teacher Training Program for Ethnic Diversity at UEMA (PROETNOS). “We discussed the reality and the difficulties we face within the University. Some achievements we will reap quickly, but others, later on,” he commented.
The State University of Maranhão is among the higher education institutions in Northeast Brazil with the highest number of indigenous students enrolled in its undergraduate courses, around 300. Professor Ilka Serra, Pro-Rector of Extension and Student Affairs, highlighted the university's interest in strengthening the indigenous community across its various campuses and in continuing to hold a State Forum of Indigenous Students each year.
“The partnership with ISPN was very important. We had contact from the perspective of PIPOU, which is this Indigenous student retention program; and through dialogues with the Indigenous students themselves, the need arose to expand this work. It was in this context that we presented a proposal to ISPN so that this project could be extended to other university campuses and also to other forums, in addition to the regional one, the state forum itself. What we really want is to strengthen this partnership, so that every year we have this state forum and a much broader perspective of policies that truly address the retention and qualification of these Indigenous students.”, stated Ilka Serra.
PIPOU is a program that supports the retention of indigenous students in undergraduate programs through scholarships, the donation of laptops, and the promotion of educational activities. The program also seeks to strengthen affirmative action for indigenous people in higher education institutions by establishing partnerships with universities to develop projects like the one carried out by UEMA.
PIPOU's technical advisor, Francisco Sarmento, from the Tukano people, is familiar with the most urgent and common needs faced by indigenous students in various higher education institutions and emphasized some of the demands discussed by indigenous students in the forums. “First, there’s the need for specific access, a specific entrance exam for the indigenous population. There’s also the challenge of confronting prejudice, not only physical but also institutional, that is, prejudice from within the university structures themselves. And there’s a need for spaces, both study spaces, laboratories and computer rooms, as well as spaces for meetings and discussions, a cultural and community center, for example, and on-campus housing. Furthermore, the need to create an organized student collective within the university was raised in all forums.”
The PIPOU program has 140 scholarship recipients, students representing 47 indigenous peoples, enrolled in 55 undergraduate courses across 27 higher education institutions. Among the scholarship recipients, 17 are at UEMA, and five received support from the program and completed their studies at this university.
One of them is Weldeson Coelho Guajajara, from the Rio Pindaré Indigenous Territory, who graduated in Social Sciences in 2023. “I participated in PIPOU as a scholarship recipient and member of the board. PIPOU is a support program for university students, providing academic guidance, financial aid, equipment, and pedagogical support. It is a program that has greatly helped academics, especially indigenous students, and has helped them remain in university.”"He commented. Weldeson Guajajara participated in the 1st State Indigenous Academic Forum."
The managing director of ISPN, Cristiane Azevedo, went to São Luís to attend the two-day Forum. At the opening ceremony, she congratulated the indigenous students and the vice-rectors of the University for their willingness to engage in dialogue and asked for continuity. “It is important that we work towards a public policy for the retention of indigenous students, similar to the one that already exists for access to higher education. It is very good to see this dialogue about university retention. I believe that the University gains a lot, because this coexistence of academic knowledge with ancestral knowledge is a powerful tool for knowledge. This is very important for building a more just society, with more equity. The Academy also has this function, of making us think, reflect and incorporate other forms of knowledge.”"This is a commitment to the quality of life and safety," stated Cristiane Azevedo, the managing director of ISPN.
In addition to the director-superintendent of ISPN, the opening panel included the presence of the vice-rector of UEMA, Paulo Catunda; the pro-rector of Extension and Student Affairs, Ilka Serra; the adjunct pro-rector of the Pro-Rectorate of Undergraduate Studies, Cláudio Eduardo; the adjunct pro-rector of the Pro-Rectorate of Research and Postgraduate Studies (PPG), Fábio Figueiredo; the coordinator of extracurricular activities, Poliana Cardoso; and the representative of indigenous students, Cristiano Caragiu Guajajara Júnior. The adjunct secretary for the Rights of Indigenous Peoples of State Secretariat for Human Rights and Popular Participation of MaranhãoRosilene Guajajara and the rector of UEMA, Professor Walter Canales, also attended the 1st UEMA State Indigenous Academic Forum.
