State graduation of the Indigenous Intercultural Teaching Degree class Uepa/Forma Pará in the Xicrin Village

On this Tuesday (4), the Government of Pará held the graduation ceremony for 30 indigenous students, graduates of the Indigenous Intercultural Teaching Degree course, offered by the Indigenous Training Center (Nufi) of the State University of Pará (Uepa), through the Forma Pará Program, executed by the State Secretariat of Science, Technology, Higher, Professional and Technological Education of Pará (Sectet), in partnership with the City Hall of Parauapebas.

Singing traditional songs and dances, the graduates entered the ceremony venue, where members of the Uepa management and the Government of Pará awaited at the official table.

Governor Helder Barbalho, alongside the First Lady, Daniela Barbalho, thanked the efforts of Uepa's professors, the partnership with Sectet, and the City Hall of Parauapebas, in southeastern Pará, to reach this historic moment.

“We will have the Nursing Technician course here in the Village. Therefore, we will have another Higher Education course, so that you do not need to leave here to get your education,” announced the governor.

He also mentioned that he had already visited the Xicrin Village with his family and was returning to celebrate the moment of training indigenous teachers, who, according to Helder Barbalho, “will have the mission to multiply knowledge, in an original way, without making those who want to access knowledge renounce their history.”

According to the governor, it is necessary to “strengthen knowledge, so that education reaches wherever there is a person from Pará.” He also emphasized that “indigenous peoples are formed in the struggle to win. Bring knowledge to all peoples of Pará.”

Indigenous Education - Bemori Xicrin, one of the graduates, wore a gown adorned with a red and black beaded belt and a headdress before putting on the traditional cap. The clothing represents the intercultural character of this differentiated training, in which Higher Education reaches the indigenous territories of Pará.

For Bemori Xicrin, “this moment is very important. The course is a great challenge, and it is very important for us to help the leaders, the communities, and the Xicrin people. Today, we are very happy. Warrior, warrior, children, most of the Xicrin people who are coming from another village, come to celebrate together.”

Brinhokrê Xikrin, the class speaker, highlighted in his speech the experience of learning. “Each book we opened, each test we took, was a step to strengthen our village. We will protect what is ours: our land, our culture. The traditional knowledge of our grandparents and school knowledge. Use it as a bridge to dialogue with the outside world, always with our feet firmly in our culture,” he emphasized.

The oath, made in the Xicrin Language and in Portuguese, was taken by graduates Bep Kô Xikrin and Kairó Xikrin.

Strengthening Culture - Clay Chagas, rector of Uepa, was present at the inaugural class of the group in 2022 and returned for the graduation ceremony. According to him, “bringing Higher Education is what makes us happy.” He emphasized that, “as a University, we are convinced that these teachers we are training today will return to their communities and will help to further strengthen their culture.”

The victory is not only for the Xicrin but for all indigenous peoples, highlighted Joelma Alencar, coordinator of the Indigenous Training Center. She stressed that “this is an achievement, it is a victory not only for the Xicrin of Kateté but for all indigenous peoples of Brazil, because the offering of this course by Uepa is a victory of the collective that supports a single objective, which is to reach this moment of celebration, where the rector and the governor deliver teachers to work in basic education.”

“These graduating students and teachers will receive their diplomas and will be ready to work in their schools in the Xicrin territory of Kateté,” explained Joelma Alencar about the intercultural training that unites the traditional knowledge of the indigenous peoples and the scientific knowledge of the University.

Partnership - Ilma Pastana, vice-rector of Uepa, also emphasized that “this is a partnership of the University, Sectet, the City Hall of Parauapebas, and the associations of various villages. The dropout rate is minimal, as the Nufi teachers come to the villages. This is one of the investments being led by the state government.”

At the end of the ceremony, with the cap on instead of the headdress, the new teachers performed the traditional act of throwing it up, celebrating this historic day.