Célia Xakriabá

Célia Xakriabá is an indigenous educator and activist of the Xakriabá people of Brazil. Since 2017, Xakriabá has spoken at various conferences and debates at universities in Brazil promoting, among other things, advancement of the status and rights of indigenous women, indigenous land rights, indigenous education, and encouraging the revitalization of native languages in Brazil.

In 2015, Xakriabá became the first individual of indigenous descent to represent indigenous Brazilians in the Minas Gerais Department of Education. She held the position from 2015 to 2017. Xakriabá claims that the education indigenous youths in Brazil receive is not adequate because it does not teach them their rights to the land and their history. She also says that in western education all the knowledge comes from the teacher, but that in indigenous education everyone brings knowledge to share. (via Wikipedia)