Dialogues on Indigenous Education and Ways of Assessing Wellbeing in the Community

Danilo Silva Guimarães, Luciano Sewaybricker, Paula Rasia Lira (Universidade de São Paulo) and Associação Indígena Takuari (Translated by Helene Hauman Bertelsen)

Between February 15th and 17th, 2026, members of the Indigenous Network at the University of São Paulo’s (USP), Danilo Silva Guimarães (faculty member at USP), Paula Rasia Lira (Laboratory specialist) and Luciano Sewaybricker (postdoctoral researcher), visited the Tekoá Takuari Village. The Mbyá-Guarani village is located in the Riberia Valley region, in the municipality of Eldorado, São Paulo, and currently has around 18 families living there. Two high school students received scholarships from the Pre-Scientific Initiation program (Pre-IC), which are supervised by Professor Luiza Pará Mirim from the Aldeia Taqari Indigenous State School. 

The purpose of the visit was to engage in dialogue with the Pre-Scientific Initiation scholarship students and the school community about the process of preparing the scholarship holders’ semiannual reports. Another objective of the visit was to present and consult the community about their interest in participating in a project focused on the coproduction of an instrument for assessing wellbeing in the indigenous community. 

The ongoing Pre-IC research is titled Yvy potyra: cultivating the territory and caring for the people. Yvy potyra is an ancient Mbyá Guarani expression meaning flower of the earth. From birth until adolescence, a child undergoes a process of blossoming, like a flower. 

The project is an extension of the partnership between the Indigenous Network of IPUSP and the Center for Support for Culture and Extension in Education and Environmental Conservation (Núcleo de Apoio à Cultura e Extensão em Educação e Conservação Ambiental/ NACE PTECA), affiliated with ESALQ-USP, to carry out cultural and university extension initiatives related to food sovereignty in Tekoá Takuari. The partnership was strengthened by the implementation of the project ‘Network of care for indigenous persons: conception, practices, and Environments for Health and Well-Being’, supported by FAPESP (process number 22/04906-3) and CNPq (process number 306149/2023-0). 

The aim of the Pre-IC project is to support the community in producing records that document the partnership, respecting understandings and knowledge about temporality (Ara há e teko) and territoriality (Yvyrupá) in the Mbyá-Guarani tradition. For this purpose, continuous dialogue within the indigenous community about ways of life (Tekó) and the cycles Ara Pyau and Ara Ymã is essential. 

Upon the team’s arrival, there was a welcoming moment at the village school, where many leaders and young people were present and we had the opportunity to discuss various topics. A meal was prepared and served, and accommodation for the visitors was arranged at the school. In the evening, we were able to participate in a community experience at the Opy (traditional indigenous house). 

The dialogues focused on preparing the Pre-IC reports began the following morning. They started with a brief presentation by the Indigenous Network team and statements from leaders and teachers. On that occasion, laboratory specialist Paula Rasia Lira presented her work at LEANPSI (Laboratory of Studies and Research in Psychological and Neuropsychological Assessment) and her postdoctoral project titled “Special Education and Indigenous Childhoods: Mapping a Decade of Enrollments in the School Census” (2015-2024). The presentation generated important reflections among the present Indigenous educators, who shared their perceptions about the increase in disabilities and health problems among children in the community. They associated this phenomenon with factors such as contact with non-Indigenous society, difficulties in maintaining traditional food practices, and territorial disputes. The educators emphasized the differences between school education and traditional Guarani education, pointing to the need for ongoing dialogues that bring these parallel forms of knowledge closer together and guarantee the right to a truly differentiated education. 

Afterward, the students shared their experiences of visiting the University of São Paulo and the Museum of Indigenous Cultures during the First International Meeting on Indigenous Psychology, which took place between October 20th and 24th, 2025 (see https://redeindigena.ip.usp.br/encontro-internacional-psicologia-indigena-saude-e-bem-viver/). We then revisited important points from the PIBIC 2025/2026 call for applications (https://prpi.usp.br/wp-content/uploads/sites/1239/2025/05/Edital-PIBIC-2025_2026.pdf). Finally, we discussed the structure of the scholarship holders’ report, the summary of the project through which the two scholarships were awarded, and other items. 

Regarding the Pre-IC project, it was possible to engage in dialogue with the school community about the gap between the school they wish for, and the understanding imposed by administrative authorities, given that it is a state-run indigenous school. Despite their right to a specific form of education, the community feels that the imposed classroom schedule often interferes with the students’ periods of traditional seclusion. The school schedule has forced traditional ceremonies to take place only on weekends. 

Respect for indigenous autonomy and traditional care practices also affects young people’s interest in attending university. Among the issues were: 1) the difficulty of distance and how to maintain university students’ connection with their families and the Tekoá; 2) the importance of universities maintaining specific spaces to welcome indigenous students; 3) attention to guidelines of each ethnic group regarding care practices including food, periods of seclusion, mourning etc. 

In response to the problems presented, the community reflected that continuous dialogues are necessary for the universities to better understand the specific needs of each person, meaning individualized attention to indigenous students and their intercultural diversity. Therefore, it is urgent to ensure the creation of places for indigenous students from interested territories across different university programs, without disadvantaging indigenous people who already live in urban contexts. It was recognized that the goal of indigenous academic training is to strengthen their communities, rather than to pursue economic interests aimed at generating individual economic gain.  

Regarding the development of the research, it was possible to observe the depth of the formative processes experienced by young people in the community, which are often not recognized in school education. There is great engagement in daily activities that take place in the Opy, participation in ceremonies, and collective work caring for community spaces, such as traditional planting, sharing food, participation in leadership meetings and gatherings of young people and indigenous women. Alongside this, preparations were made to welcome university visitors during technical exchanges and to organize documentation of activities.

After completing the productive work on the Pre-IC report, we moved on to a dialogue about the co-production of well-being measures with the community. This project, carried out in partnership with the USP Indigenous Network, aims to share with the village how the Juruá (non-indigenous people) develop assessment instruments and, from this, jointly create an instrument that reflects the Guarani way and is specific to the Takurai village. The idea of promoting dialogue around the notion of Tekó Porã (good living) was well received by the present leaders. They proposed expanding the project to include Xeramōi and Xejary kuery (male and female elders) from other Tekoá as specialists and advisors in the process. It was also suggested to broaden the network of potential funding partners who could support and expand the forms of meetings on the subject. 

At the end of the second day of the visit, we had dinner and participated in another experience in the Opy, seeking the spiritual strength and concentration needed for the success of the initiatives already underway and the newly proposed. 

This activity was supported by CNPq (process number 306149/2023-0) and the Office of Culture and Extension of the University of São Paulo, directed toward the Network of Care for Indigenous Persons.