Is the indigenous school gendered? Investigation about the life of Xakriabá women and female teachers

The schooling and literacy process among the indigenous people Xakriabá in the northern region of the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, is analyzed through the gender perspective. Statistical data on the indigenous school of the Xakriabá people and brief descriptions of their daily life are forwarded. Investigation demonstrates that, although the Xakriabá indigene school and the Brazilian non-indigene school converge with regard to better schooling progress in women and to the feminization of the professorship (although not in hierarchical commanding posts), different meanings exist within the schooling process and literacy. In fact, they were installed within contexts with specific social, cultural and economical dynamics.