Políticas de ações afirmativas e promoção de igualdade étnico-racial sob a perspectiva de estudantes indígenas da Universidade Federal do Oeste do Pará

Abstract

The presence of indigenous students in Brazilian Higher Education Institutions became a reality after decades of exclusion. In 2009, in the state of Pará, after being created, Ufopa faced a major challenge: the inclusion of students in situations of social vulnerability, into its education system, including those of indigenous origin. In 2011, this entry was made possible by the Special Selection Process (PSE) and the approval of Resolution No. 200/2017 of Consepe/Ufopa, established its Affirmative Action Policy. It was from this perspective that I raised the guiding question of the research: how do indigenous students perceive the effectiveness of the Affirmative Action Policy and Promotion of Ethnic-racial Equality as a policy of inclusion and permanence at Ufopa? The purpose is to see what has changed after twelve years of implementing these Affirmative Actions in accordance with Law No. 10,558/2002. This research aimed to verify the effectiveness of Affirmative Actions and the Promotion of Ethnic-racial Equality, from the perspective of indigenous students at the Federal University of Western Pará (Ufopa). Historical-Dialetic Materialism was used as a method of analysis, which allowed me to critically understand social relations under the capitalist mode of production, socio-educational, political and economic inequality, their common characteristics. In the analysis, I used triangulation as a technique, to verify the intersection between the perspectives of indigenous students and the Institution. The research has an empirical/field exploratory basis, is bibliographic and documentary in nature and is epistemologically based on the postulations of Bobbio (2004); Oliven (2007); Santos (2012); Jodas (2019); Pereira (2017); Tosi (2004); Colares and Colares (2012, 2019), which from various theoretical perspectives, deal with human and social rights and education through the lens of historical-dialectic materialism. Participating were indigenous students entering through the Special Indigenous Selection Process (PSEI), from 2011 to 2022, as well as employees of the Dean's Office. The result of the analysis showed that in fact Ufopa's Affirmative Action Policy has positive and negative aspects. As positive aspects, indigenous students recognize that Ufopa has been developing actions that enable access and permanence, such as: student aid; the implementation of the University restaurant; and pedagogical support via Ceanama. To overcome the negative aspects, students suggest the need for actions that strengthen the policy to combat racism at the Institution; the need for bilingual teachers in their mother tongue; the increase in the number of PBP/MEC permanence scholarships and student aid intended for indigenous students, as well as the increase in the financial value of the respective scholarships; the need to build daycare centers for the children of indigenous students and housing for indigenous university students. The research revealed that Ufopa has made efforts to implement its Affirmative Action Policy aimed at students in conditions of social vulnerability, specifically with regard to indigenous students. Regarding its effectiveness from the students' perspective, we cannot say that it has fully achieved the expected results.