INTERCULTURALITY AND DECOLONIALITY AS EMANCIPATORY PRINCIPLES IN INDIGENOUS TEACHER EDUCATION: KNOWLEDGESPRACTICES, EVERYDAY LIFE, AND THE ECOLOGY OF KNOWLEDGES

Abstract

This article discusses the meanings of critical interculturality and decoloniality as epistemological, political, and pedagogical foundations for the training of Indigenous teachers within the context of Indigenous School Education. It draws upon the Epistemologies of the South, the ecology of knowledges, and research rooted in everyday life, understanding that teacher training processes must recognize the knowledge-practices produced by Indigenous communities as legitimate knowledge that constitutes school curricula. The study is qualitative in nature, employing bibliographic and narrative approaches; it highlights that critical interculturality goes beyond the mere recognition of cultural diversity, constituting instead a political project to confront the coloniality of power, knowledge, and being. It argues that Indigenous teacher training must be built upon the communities' everyday experiences, ancestral cosmologies, narratives, oral traditions, and curricular practices developed within Indigenous territories, thereby breaking away from homogenizing training models. It posits that training policies grounded in cognitive justice, intercultural dialogue, and the valuing of Indigenous epistemologies foster emancipatory processes capable of strengthening the autonomy of Indigenous peoples and promoting an intercultural education that is inclusive, specific, differentiated, and socially grounded.