As part of the project “Creating Spaces for Dialogue on Indigenous Peoples’ Health and Well-being,” resulting from the partnership between the Indigenous Network and UFG, the second and third conversation circles were held in the city of Goiás on November 21 and 22, 2024. As explained in previous articles available on the Indigenous Network portal, the initiative aims to promote discussions on health and well-being among Indigenous students, healthcare services, and the university community at UFG. Following the first conversation circle of the cycle on June 27, 2024, it was possible to introduce the project and plan the subsequent meetings, taking into account the participants’ schedules and the timing of the activities.

 On November 21, the conversation circle took place during class time, provided by Hélio Simplicio Rodrigues Monteiro — Professor of Ethnomathematics in the Rural Education bachelor’s degree, and also a collaborator and the main coordinator of the project — and was mediated by psychologist Milena Nunes. Twenty-three participants from three ethnic groups joined the discussion, including university students, high school and middle school students from the Colégio Professor Alcides Jubé, family members, as well as Cristóvão Tsoropré, a leader of the Awe Aptabi people and a teacher. After a welcoming snack, the meeting began with a sharing and listening of the feelings of those present, focusing mainly on the course and the territory. Later, a collective reflection was conducted on the concept of health, how the community takes care of itself, and its relationship with the healthcare network in the city. During this first meeting, stories were gathered to be revisited and further explored the following day in another conversation circle.

 On November 22, in the morning, the conversation continued with 34 participants, including health professionals from the Municipal Health Department of Goiás, the UBS (Basic Health Unit) for Indigenous people, the CAPS (Psychosocial Care Center), and municipal management. The activity aimed to promote the sharing of issues related to health and well-being and to develop actions for better coexistence. To do this, the participants were divided into four groups: two consisting of Indigenous people and two of health professionals, to discuss two guiding questions:

What doubts do you have regarding Indigenous health when it comes to seeking or receiving healthcare in the city?

What are the motivations and suggestions for building better care?

Indigenous students highlighted issues such as difficulties related to language; mistrust of services where people are not known, and there is no guarantee of respect for cultural practices and the specific temporality of comunnity life; questions about the regularization of the SUS card; the need for differentiated treatment for mental health and women’s health, among others. Health professionals, on the other hand, reported challenges with language barriers, dental care prevention, and home visits, which lead to poor adherence from women to proposed groups; they also expressed doubts about the acceptance of medications, vaccines, the heel prick test, and mental health care at CAPS, as well as questions related to family control and STI prevention.

Following this sharing, the Indigenous students proposed a series of actions, including: training on Indigenous peoples to deepen knowledge about their reality; organizing a cultural event with Indigenous students in a natural environment; hiring Indigenous health professionals and translators; the possibility of using traditional plants and remedies in treatments, and the creation of an Indigenous pharmacy; building bonds with these professionals and creating more accessible communication means, considering the challenges of mobility; and identifying the Health Unit as a reference point for Indigenous people through graphics or a welcoming message, among others. In turn, the health professionals expressed the desire to learn more about the cultures and strengthen bonds, also asking Indigenous people who accept medications and treatments to talk to others, not necessarily to convince them to accept what is offered by the health team, but to create a collective care network that addresses the needs of Indigenous people and respects their cultures. 

Thus, through the encounter and dialogue with transformative potential, the project aims to build relationships and services that embrace Indigenous ways of understanding and practicing health and well-being. The goal is to share, listen, and imagine together so that it is possible to recover, create, and reinvent experiences of respect between peoples and nature. The intention is not to homogenize a single practice of well-being at the expense of others, but rather to foster communications and combinations that allow diverse approaches to health without invalidating each other. Health, being a collective construct that encompasses physical, mental, spiritual, and social aspects — using a division that may make more sense for Western understanding — such care is fundamental for the Indigenous existence both within and outside universities.