The thematics of indigenous people in schools: continuing teacher training experiences in the state of Minas Gerais/Brazil

Abstract

This study aims at reporting the experience of teacher training developed at an improvement course conducted from 2014 to 2015 under the coordination of teachers of the Federal University of the “Triângulo Mineiro” (UFTM).The training process sought to qualify the approach to indigenous people’s culture in schools, as determined by Brazilian Law nº 11.645/2008 and to discuss the implementation of digital environments on indigenous communities from the perspective of emancipation that emphasizes, above all, the active interaction of the subject with the digital media as a consumer and as a producer of its contents and processes. The course - recommended by the National Network of Continuing Training of Teachers of the Basic Public Education System (RENAFORM) - was structured in two articulated activities: face-to-face and distance learning, and thematic seminars with the participation of representatives of indigenous communities located in Ji-Paraná (Estate of Rondônia/Brazil), who spoke about digital inclusion in the villages of “Arara” (Karo) and “Gavião” (Ikólóéhj). The experience emphasized the potential of the actions of continuing teacher training for the development of an intercultural education and demonstrated, in turn, that there are still many challenges to be faced for the effectiveness of the digital inclusion processes in Brazil.