Indigenous Mathematical Knowledge and Practices: State of the Art of the Ethnomathematics Brazilian Congresses (2000–2016)

Abstract

This chapter focus on the works addressing indigenous mathematical practices and knowledge throughout the five editions of the Brazilian Congress of Ethnomathematics (CBEm). By aiming to identify theoretical and methodological trends, main themes and the representativeness of indigenous authorship, this study reflects on possible and necessary relations between ethnomathematics and anthropology. A bibliographic research of the state-of-the-art type has been developed, the time frame adopted—2000 to 2016—covers the years of the first and last edition of CBEm. Having defined indigenous as the main criterion for the selection of contributions the works have been analyzed according to five subcategories for analysis of the selected works, namely: researched indigenous ethnicities, indigenous authorship, main themes, references from anthropology, and mention of ethnography as a methodological option. From the universe of 450 contributions presented in the five editions of CBEm, 69 were selected considering the indigenous theme. Results indicate proportional growth over the years, jumping from 4% in CBEm1 to 22% in CBEm5. 32 indigenous ethnic groups had some form of representation at the events, only 10% of the entire ethnic diversity of indigenous peoples in Brazil. From the third edition of CBEm, there is a growing presence of indigenous authors in the works presented at the event, related to the expansion of ethnomathematics in Brazil, initially concentrated in graduate programs and research groups, and spreading towards undergraduate programs and especially for initial teacher training programs. The increasing presence of indigenous authors in CBEm shows an inversion in the researcher’s speech position in relation to the knowledge and practices researched with indigenous peoples in the country and has the potential to contribute to theoretical innovations of conceptions on ethnomathematics itself. From the reading and qualitative analysis of the selected sample four main themes were identified, indicated explicitly or implicitly by the authors in their productions: Indigenous (mathematical) knowledge, Teacher training, Curriculum, Culture and cultural identity. Although 63% of the analyzed works have references from anthropology, having cited 59 anthropologists from different theoretical currents, there is a tendency to reduce these references along the last two editions of CBEm. This occurs simultaneously with the increase of indigenous researchers’ presence at the events. These results allow us to suppose that, in the current phase of development of ethnomathematics in Brazil, the growing participation of indigenous researchers as authors of works that deal with their own peoples’ knowledge, generates relative independence in the results of anthropological studies, indicating a distance tendency between ethnomathematics and anthropology in the country. Besides this, it has been noted that only 18% of all analyzed works call themselves ethnographic. Thus, it can be said that the dialogue between ethnomathematics and anthropology, although existing since its origins, needs to be deepened in Brazil, and constitutes an opportunity to give greater density to ethnomathematics research and better appropriation of ethnographic research.