História e cultura indígena em políticas públicas educacionais : uma análise documental com ênfase no ensino de ciências da natureza

Abstract

The presence of Indigenous peoples in Brazilian history is marked by processes of resistance, invisibilization, and struggles for social, cultural, and political recognition. The protagonism of the Indigenous movement contributed to legal achievements, such as the mandatory teaching of Indigenous History and Culture, established by Law No. 11,645/2008. However, its implementation remains challenged by the persistence of Eurocentric teaching practices that reproduce stereotypes, by the scarcity of teaching materials, and by the lack of initial and continuing teacher education. In this context, public curricular policies express asymmetrical power relations and are shaped by disputes among counter-hegemonic groups. This study analyzes how Brazilian educational public policies address the incorporation of Indigenous History and Culture (IHC) into the teaching of Natural Sciences in basic education. The general objective is to identify references to the theme in national normative documents, assessing advances and setbacks, and how/if the official discourse guides pedagogical practice. The methodology is characterized as qualitative, exploratory research, using documentary analysis as its technical procedure. The analytical corpus encompasses legal frameworks from the postredemocratization period, including the Law of Guidelines and Bases of National Education (LDB), the National Curriculum Parameters (PCNs), the National Environmental Education Program (ProNEA), the National Environmental Education Policy (PNEA), the National Curriculum Guidelines for Education on Ethnic-Racial Relations; Laws No. 10,639/2003 and 11,645/2008; the National Curriculum Guidelines for Basic Education; the National Curriculum Guidelines for Environmental Education; the National Common Curricular Base (BNCC); the BNCC Contemporary Cross-Cutting Themes documents (Environment and Health); and the reforms of Upper Secondary Education. The analysis is grounded in Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), according to Van Dijk, considering micro-, meso-, and macro-social dimensions, with the support of artificial intelligence for textual revision and bibliographic research. The results were organized into four analytical subcategories: (I) Indigenous history, culture, and/or identity; (II) Indigenous rights; (III) Indigenous peoples’ knowledge; and (IV) Indigenous representation. A curricular fragmentation was identified, marked by the silencing of the theme in the Natural Sciences PCNs and by a limited presence in the BNCC, predominantly associated with astronomical knowledge. The predominance of a functional interculturality discourse was observed, which values diversity in a symbolic and depoliticized manner, without challenging the structures of neoliberal capitalism and environmental racism. The final considerations indicate that, although there have been legal advances, these are challenged by curricular standardization policies and by the logic of market-oriented competencies, resulting in the invisibilization of Indigenous knowledge in Natural Sciences. It is concluded that critical interculturality is necessary to ensure genuinely anti-racist education.