A historic demand of the Brazilian indigenous movement became a reality this Thursday (28), reports the newspaper. The GlobeIn a ceremony held at the Palácio do Planalto, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva signed into law the creation of the Federal Indigenous University (Unind), a higher education institution designed to expand access to university education for indigenous peoples and strengthen academic training focused on indigenous realities.
The new university will be headquartered in Brasília, with a multi-campus structure distributed across different regions of the country and a management model led by the indigenous peoples themselves. The proposal seeks to address long-standing demands from indigenous leaders and organizations who advocated for the creation of an institution designed based on the cultural, linguistic, and territorial specificities of the communities.
During the signing ceremony, Lula highlighted the significance of the initiative for expanding the rights and participation of indigenous peoples in Brazilian public policies.
"We have to teach the world to understand that it is possible to guarantee the rights and participation of all those who inhabit the planet," the president stated.
The project was born from broad indigenous mobilization.
The creation of the Federal Indigenous University is the result of a collective construction process that involved representatives from different peoples and regions of Brazil. According to the federal government, approximately 3,5 people participated in the discussions that gave rise to the project, representing 236 indigenous peoples from 26 Brazilian states.
The proposal gained momentum after the creation of the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples, a department that began coordinating policies aimed at promoting indigenous rights and expanding the participation of these communities in federal government decisions.
The bill was submitted to the National Congress last November. After passing through both legislative houses, it was approved by the Chamber of Deputies in February and received Senate approval this month, allowing for presidential sanction.
Indigenous management and education adapted to communities
One of the distinguishing features of the new institution will be the adoption of admission and training mechanisms adapted to the realities of indigenous peoples. The goal is to ensure that the selection processes consider the cultural and linguistic diversity that exists among the communities spread throughout the national territory.
The university should also develop specific teaching, research, and outreach methodologies, respecting traditional knowledge and promoting dialogue between academic knowledge and the ancestral practices of indigenous peoples.
The Minister for Indigenous Peoples, Luiz Eloy Terena, highlighted the strategic role of the new institution in strengthening indigenous autonomy and in formulating public policies aimed at these communities.
"The new federal university will be a space for defending rights and improving public policies aimed at indigenous territories," he stated.
Structure and planned courses
According to projections from the Ministry of Education, the Federal Indigenous University will begin its activities with approximately 2,8 students. The institution will also have an initial staff of 366 professors and 383 administrative technicians.
Among the first courses planned are undergraduate degrees focused on training indigenous teachers, educational management, indigenous public health, and territorial and environmental management—areas considered strategic for the development of communities and the protection of traditional territories.
The university's headquarters will be located in a property acquired by the federal government in Brasília. The proposal, however, envisions expanding activities through units distributed across different regions of the country, bringing the institution closer to the diverse realities of Brazilian indigenous communities.
Direct participation of indigenous peoples
Indigenous leaders emphasize that the main characteristic of the Federal Indigenous University lies in the project's development process. Unlike initiatives developed without consulting the communities, Unind was conceived with the direct participation of indigenous representatives from the very first discussions.
For Rita Potiguara, a member of the National Forum for Indigenous School Education, this process of collective construction is one of the pillars of the new institution.
"This is not a university designed for Indigenous peoples without Indigenous peoples. It is born from listening, dialogue, and collective construction," he stated.
Community participation in the project's development is highlighted as one of the factors that could contribute to the initiative's success, ensuring that the university is aligned with the needs and challenges faced by indigenous peoples in different regions of the country.
A milestone for indigenous education.
The creation of the Federal Indigenous University is considered one of the most significant recent advancements in education for indigenous peoples. In addition to expanding access to higher education, the initiative seeks to strengthen knowledge production from indigenous perspectives and contribute to the training of professionals prepared to work in strategic areas both within and outside traditional territories.
For experts and leaders in the sector, the new institution represents an important step in consolidating public policies aimed at valuing Brazilian cultural diversity and strengthening indigenous participation in decision-making, research, and scientific production spaces.
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