Understand how the new Federal Indigenous University will work

President Luís Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) sanctioned this Thursday (28) the law that stipulates the creation of the first Federal Indigenous University in Brazil. The project aims to promote protagonism, autonomy and meet the specificities of the presence of the country's original peoples.

Linked to the Ministry of Education, the university will have its headquarters in Brasília, in the Federal District, and a multicamp structure in the future. The objective is to train people at undergraduate and postgraduate levels and promote university extension. Unind will also preserve and disseminate the languages of the indigenous peoples of Brazil and Latin America.

In the first four years of implementation, ten courses will be offered, aimed at serving 2,800 students. The areas of interest will follow the demands of each people and will cover topics such as environmental and territorial management; public policy management; socio-environmental sustainability; promotion of indigenous languages; health; right; agroecology; engineering and technologies; teacher training; and other areas considered strategic for the strengthening and autonomy of the people.

Its main pillars are:

- Autonomy of indigenous peoples, with the promotion of teaching, research and extension from an intercultural perspective;
- Valorization of indigenous knowledge, languages and traditions;
- Production of scientific knowledge in dialogue with ancestral practices;
- Strengthening socio-environmental sustainability;
- Training of technical staff capable of working in strategic areas for the development of indigenous territories.

The objective is for the educational model to combine the strengthening of traditional identities and knowledge in dialogue with non-indigenous academic knowledge.

According to the decree, Unind will be able to establish its own selection processes, listening to indigenous communities and considering linguistic and cultural diversities. There must be specific criteria that ensure a minimum selection percentage of indigenous candidates.

In principle, the first rector and vice-rector will be appointed by the Ministry of Education, until Unind has approved its Statute and General Regulations, when governance will become autonomous, exercised by the rector and the University Council. The positions must be filled by indigenous teachers and the permanent staff will be selected through a public competition, with criteria that ensure a minimum percentage of indigenous candidates.

Meet Eunice Tapuia, the 1st indigenous professor at UFG

*With information from Laura Toyama.

Source: CNN