Professor from Acre is nominated for the “Oscar of Brazilian science” with her thesis on indigenous women

Blenda Cunha Moura, History professor at the Federal Institute of Acre (Ifac) in Cruzeiro do Sul, also founded the Center for Afro-Brazilian and Indigenous Studies (NEABI) at Ifac. PhD in History, Moura was nominated last Tuesday (23) to the Capes Award 2024considered the “Oscar” of Brazilian Science.

Competing in the College of Humanities category – Human Sciences, Applied Social Sciences and Linguistics, Letters and Arts. The professor, in her thesis, tells stories of indigenous women erased from the records of time in the Colonial Amazon. With the title “Free by my Nature”, Moura focuses on betrayals, revenge, witchcraft, love and the daily lives of these bodies that resisted for freedom.

To the ContilNetthe doctor reveals her career as a teacher, how the subject crosses her path and the meaning of listening and reading the stories of these women.

The introduction

Blenda was born in Amazonas, but grew up in Curitiba, Paraná, moving to Cruzeiro do Sul, after passing the competition to become a history teacher. Her original plan was to talk about indigenous women during her master’s degree between 2006 and 2007, before going to Acre, however, her advisor at the time blocked the idea.

Students in a project coordinated by Blenda in 2018/Photo: Provided

“Until one fine day [10 anos depois]I took my original master’s project [que era de mulheres indígenas], I did a refresher, submitted it to UFPR and went on to do my doctorate. I think the thread that connects the first page to the last is the search for freedom”, reflects the researcher.

And this search for freedom – which gives its name to her thesis – comes from the search to be free in the period of time analyzed by the author. The professor comments on how these indigenous women were subjected to a hostile environment, raped and forcibly married – in addition, of course, to the racism they suffered personally.

“When we study indigenous people, it’s like a cake. The term “indigenous” is there to say that no, they are diverse. I think it’s important to make this cut,” says Moura.

Tainá was a medalist at the 2018 Olympics/Photo: Provided

With this movement to rescue the doctorate, it also infects Ifac’s high school classes. Former student and now Law student at the Federal University of Acre (Ufac), Tainá Nogueira, says:

“Blenda as a teacher marked my life in high school in many aspects. With her quick-witted, cheerful and creative way, History classes were a balm in the midst of busy student life. The presentations of works on different topics (I fondly remember the first presentation I gave in her class, on Ancient Greece) were simply the best.”

Alongside the teacher, Tainá was a medalist at the History Olympiad (ONB); the final takes place at Unicamp in Campinas, São Paulo. “She is an example of a teacher and I am very proud of her having been part of my academic life”, thanks the former student.

The development

When asked about the objective of the thesis, Moura decides to tell the story that opens her writing, a discovery she made about an 18th century revolt.

“Close to Barcelona [região de Manaus], there was an indigenous leader who wanted to marry a concubine – his lover – and a priest forbade it. In this, he coordinated with four other leaders and they set out to kill the priest, who ended up running away. This started a revolt, when 15 more indigenous leaders joined together and decided to go to the capital to end Portuguese rule. However, someone reported the route they were going to take and the Portuguese ambushed them and beheaded them all”, he says.

The professor, in her thesis, tells stories of indigenous women erased from the records of time in the Colonial Amazon/Photo: Provided

This is the story of the Lamalonga Revolt, at least, as told until Blenda discovered a twist that was, to say the least, unusual:

“When I was researching in Pará, the words “woman” and “Indian” always stood out in documents from the 18th century. Until in one document, there was this phrase: ‘all wishes must be granted to this woman’. I thought it was beautiful and took a photo,” she details.

The teacher says that the person who had denounced the revolt was Dona Anna Maria de Ataíde, the wife of the leader who wanted to marry his lover, to get revenge. And, soon after the murder, she became a community leader in place of her ex-husband.

Cover of Blenda’s thesis/Photo: UFPR

In a wave contrary to a “very masculine science”, according to the researcher, the stories of these women leaders, sorcerers and lovers are important for changing current research paradigms.

Still a long way from a “conclusion”

The doctor says that she discovered in a very “dry” way that she had been nominated for CAPES 2024: via a message from her advisor – without even a “good morning”, she jokes. The Federal Government website says that the award “recognizes the best doctoral studies defended in Brazilian postgraduate programs”.

The award has existed since 2005/Photo: Reproduction

Moura believes that the nomination also comes at a time of recognition of indigenous women in politics, such as Sônia Guajajara, minister of Indigenous Peoples, Francisca Arara, state secretary of Indigenous Peoples and Joenia Wapichana, president of the National Foundation of Indigenous Peoples (Funai).

The unprecedented nature of documents and cataloging of these stories is the attraction of the author’s work, who says in a humorous way: “selling my fish, it’s very well written”.

“I think it’s fantastic, these diverse roles of women as indigenous leaders. It’s very rich”, says Moura about the richness present in the material he created, “It’s a thesis that brings many wonderful stories, which I never expected to read or come across. Party, ritual, jealousy, witchcraft, it has it all.”

The nomination also comes at a time of recognition of indigenous women in politics, such as Francisca Arara, state secretary for Indigenous Peoples/Photo: Thauã Conde/ContilNet

Telling stories of “women eager for freedom”, she ends by explaining why the title of her thesis: “Free by my Nature”.

“There is a chapter on expeditionaries. Most of the petitions for freedom in Belém, in São Luís, were made by indigenous women. The men ended up being free by default, for example: this mother was free and so was her son. The largest number of people asking for freedom were women and they asked precisely with the phrase in the title. Most of the documents had it”, he states.

Blenda Cunha Moura talks about how this experience and access to these people made her reflect on the basic concept of freedom. After all, whether in historical documents or thesis awards, the author describes how “women like freedom; I am free, by my nature”, she concludes.