Indigenous mathematical knowledge in the context of the Parkatêjê community: meanings of capitalist expansion in the Amazon region post-1970

Abstract

This article has as its central focus the mathematical knowledge intertwined in bodily practices in different daily contexts of the Parkatêjê community, located in the Eastern Amazon, in the southeast of Pará. In this study, we seek to reflect on the meanings of capitalist expansion in the post-1970 Amazon region, in the implementation of new mathematical knowledge developed in the cultural context of this community; and identify indigenous mathematical knowledge woven over time, through their experiences and memories. To this end, this qualitative research uses the following methodological instruments for the production and analysis of research data: participant observation, interviews, oral narratives and reports from the elders of the Parkatêjê community. It is a study that has culture and education as its axis of analysis, based on mathematical practices experienced in the daily life of this society, developed at the State Indigenous School “Peptykre Parkatêjê”, with the participation of indigenous students from Early Childhood Education, Teaching Elementary and Secondary Education In the oral narratives and reports of the “old men” and “old women” of the Parkatêjê community, various concepts, contents and mathematical procedures can be seen, such as notions of space, measures of time, measures of capacity, strength, numbers, geometry, among others. The research findings highlight the importance of valuing indigenous knowledge in mathematical practices experienced in Indigenous School Education, intensifying the interculturality of the different knowledge of the Parkatêjê community.