O direito à educação escolar indígena e o acesso ao ensino superior para os povos indígenas a partir da Constituição Federal de 1988

Abstract

Education is a social right, guaranteed by the 1988 Federal Constitution and reinforced by the Law of Guidelines and Bases of Education 9.394/96. In this way, both ensure inclusive, public, and quality education for all Brazilian citizens, which includes Indigenous peoples within the scope of educational policies. However, we know that Indigenous populations, throughout Brazil's history, were excluded from formal education spaces and only recently began to be incorporated due to pressure from organized Indigenous movements. According to the 2022 Census, the state of Maranhão has a population of 57,214 Indigenous people divided into thirteen ethnic groups. Considering this diversity of Indigenous peoples, the Federal University of Maranhão was one of the pioneers in reserving quotas for Indigenous people since 2006 to promote their inclusion in the academic space. In 2012, the National Congress passed Law 12.711/12, which instituted a national quota system for filling vacancies in federal public universities designated for Indigenous and Black populations, thus allowing these groups to enter the university space. In this context, the primary objective of this thesis is to analyze the historical context of the implementation of the quota policy with an ethnic focus for Indigenous peoples at the Federal University of Maranhão from 2020 to 2023, as well as the possible contributions to the academic and professional training of the Indigenous populations of Maranhão. The choice of this theme is justified by the lack of scientific studies in the field of History that analyze the implementation of quotas and the integration of Indigenous peoples at the Federal University of Maranhão. This reality brings forth some questions regarding issues we intend to discuss: How has the Federal University of Maranhão been implementing the ethnic-based quota policy for Indigenous peoples from 2020 to 2023? What was the role, mobilization, and articulation of Indigenous peoples in discussions on the implementation of the quota system at UFMA? What impact has the quota policy had on the academic and professional training of the Indigenous peoples of Maranhão? What challenges and difficulties do Indigenous students face in integrating into the academic context? What student assistance programs has the university created to support them? Thus, we start from the hypothesis that the Federal University of Maranhão has been integrating Indigenous peoples into the academic environment since 2006 and expanded this access with Law No. 12.711 of 2012. However, the lack of adequate student and pedagogical support has contributed to the dropout and withdrawal of some Indigenous students. Therefore, to support this research, we adopt the theoretical framework of New Indigenous History and New Political History, selecting the following analytical categories for discussion throughout the work: Indigenous School Education, Indigenous Education, Higher Education for Indigenous Peoples, Racial Quotas, and Affirmative Actions. The methodological approach is qualitative-descriptive using the historiographical method, and we rely on the following documentary corpus: UFMA management reports (2020 to 2023), entrance examination announcements at UFMA (2020 – 2023), Student Assistance Reports – Proas (2020 – 2023), online newspapers, Law 12/711/12, CONSEPE Resolution 1710, technical reports, and meeting minutes.