POTIGUARA TERRITORY
In February 2025, the Selvagem Association visited the Potiguara territory in Baía da Traição, in the state of Paraíba, for an exchange with a group of leaders and traditional knowledge bearers who have been strengthening the community’s bonds and traditions.
A series of notebooks and videos emerged from this incredible meeting, featuring contributions from Carlos Papá, Romildo Guyraakanga Potiguara, Iolanda Potiguara, Joana Potiguara and Ezequiel Maria Potiguara.
We would like to thank Funarbe and the Serrapilheira Institute for their support in making this exchange possible; and Victor Félix Potiguara, Rafael Raimundo, the Pedro Poty School, the Paraíba Mel Association and the Federal University of Paraíba for their partnership.
Videos
Notebooks
More about the exchange
The main aim of this initiative was to build a bridge of communication and exchange between the Living Schools, supported by the Selvagem Association, the Potiguara territory and Campus IV of the Federal University of Paraíba. The proposal was to bring practices closer together, strengthen exchanges and jointly envision what a Potiguara Living School might look like.
In this project, the idea was to bring together interconnected strands: Selvagem’s experience in developing materials and conducting research, the network created by the Living Schools, the scientific projects on ecology and indigenous knowledge being developed at the university and within the territory, and the Potiguara people’s movement to reclaim their native language. Following this meeting, the proposal included creating materials together, such as Selvagem notebooks, through workshops and exchanges.
Over the course of a year, through online meetings, plans were drawn up for in-person meetings in the Potiguara territory of Aldeia São Francisco, in Baía da Traição, and on Campuses IV and I of the Federal University of Paraíba between 18 and 21 February, with the aim of strengthening ties between the Living Schools network and the Potiguara territory.
