School histories in amazonia: Education and schooling in apurinã lands

Abstract

This chapters looks at Amazonian school histories, from the perspective of the Apurinã who live in Brazilian Amazonia. It addresses first traditional Apurinã education, and then focuses on the historical and structural changes of schooling, studied in their national and political contexts, as well as the recent alterations and challenges in sustaining Apurinã education. The Arawak-speaking Apurinã have experienced schooling system as a part of the nation state’s assimilation politics, similar to many other Indigenous peoples. For the last decades, the Apurinã schools have elaborated their own teaching methods in school. Yet, some of them integrate traditional ways of learning and Apurinã language in the schooling program, while most of the schools still lack an adequate training for Apurinã teachers as well as teaching materials.