Percepções dos indígenas ticuna sobre a alfabetização em sua língua materna: desafios e significados culturais na comunidade de Feijoal (Benjamin Constant/AM)

Abstract

This dissertation aims to understand the perceptions of the Ticuna Indigenous people from the Feijoal community, located in the municipality of Benjamin Constant/AM, regarding literacy in their mother tongue. It analyzes the challenges faced and the cultural meanings attributed to this process. The research acknowledges the importance of mother-tongue literacy as a tool for cultural valorization, strengthening ethnic identity, and resisting the imposition of Portuguese as the dominant school language. A qualitative approach was adopted, based on interviews, participant observation, and document analysis, involving teachers, students, community leaders, and members of the school community at Escola Municipal Indígena Marechal Rondon. The theoretical framework is grounded in official documents addressing Public Policies and Indigenous Educational Rights in Brazil (BRASIL, 1988; BRASIL, 1996a; BRASIL, 1996b; BRASIL, 1996c; BRASIL, 1998a; BRASIL, 1998b; BRASIL, 2001a; BRASIL, 2001b; BRASIL, 2014; BRASIL, [n.d.]; BRASIL, 2025), as well as in pedagogical approaches that discuss mother-tongue literacy, education, and schooling in Indigenous communities (MELIÀ, 1979; FREIRE, 1981; FREIRE, 1996). The investigation was conducted within the school community, focusing on the cultural and educational challenges involved in Indigenous literacy practices. To deepen the understanding of these issues in the context of Escola Marechal Rondon, structured interviews were conducted with teachers Aldeney, Josiane, Jocilene, and Zacarias—all of whom are members of the Ticuna ethnic group and work at the school in the Feijoal village. The interviews sought to capture the perceptions, experiences, and difficulties faced by these educators in the process of Ticuna-language literacy, offering a qualified listening to those directly involved in everyday pedagogical practice. The systematization and analysis of the interviews reveal a rich panorama of Ticuna-language literacy and its relationship with cultural identity, educational challenges, community relations, and prospects for strengthening this practice. The teachers’ statements reflect a critique of the hegemonic school model and express a collective desire for cultural re-existence through a school that values local knowledge, practices, and needs. In summary, the data show that, for the Ticuna teachers at Escola Marechal Rondon, literacy in their mother tongue is understood as a fundamental pillar for cultural preservation. However, strengthening this practice requires structural investment, institutional support, and public policies that are sensitive to the specificities of Indigenous peoples. More than a policy of inclusion, bilingual education is conceived as a strategy of resistance and epistemic re-existence, capable of promoting cultural autonomy in the face of colonial-based educational models.