Teachers and students unite to preserve the Pataxó Indigenous Sign Language

David Kaique Rodrigues dos Santos, an Indigenous person of the Pataxó Hãhãhãe ethnic group, teaches Brazilian Sign Language (Libras) at the Pataxó Coroa Vermelha Indigenous school in the municipality of Santa Cruz Cabrália in the Brazilian state of Bahia (BA). David holds a master's degree in Ethnic Relations and Contemporaneity from the State University of Southwest Bahia (UESB) and carried out research entitled "Pataxó Indigenous Sign Language: focusing on the school education of Deaf Pataxó Indigenous students." The study was carried out at the Pataxó Coroa Vermelha school and in the Colégio Estadual Indígena, both institutions of the Pataxó Coroa Vermelha village, receiving the participation of the student Karina Bispo da Silva.

The interviews were conducted in collaboration with Fernanda Fernandes, a Libras translator and interpreter; Rosinete Pereira Silva Matos, a teacher in the Specialized Educational Service (AEE, in the Portuguese acronym); and Shirley Vilhalva, a Deaf Indigenous teacher. In addition to teachers and the school administration. According to the researcher, the group involved in the work could discuss and insert the agenda of Indigenous Sign Languages, specifically the Pataxó Indigenous Sign Language, from its local territory to the national stage, as well as in events in Brasil and abroad.

He considers Indigenous Sign Languages essential for the education of Deaf Indigenous people because they represent their cultural identity. In addition, teaching through the use of Sign Language is a way to ensure the inclusion and complete education of Deaf Indigenous people, respecting the original territories, cultures, and languages.

"We brought together Deaf and hearing Indigenous people from different peoples and regions of Brasil for the movement to revitalize, preserve, and promote Indigenous Sign Languages in Brasil, contributing to the education of Deaf Indigenous individuals in their original communities,” he stated.

Check out the video below in which teacher David Kaique Rodrigues is interviewed by students from the Pataxó Coroa Vermelha Indigenous School and learn more about the Pataxó Indigenous Sign Language.