Native Populations in the Americas: Society and Cultural Practices Addressed in History Textbooks

Abstract

The article is the result of evaluative activities carried out in the subject Workshop of Educational Instruments, taught by Professor Elisgardênia de Oliveira Chaves, during the 2025.1 semester, in the course of History at FAFIDAM/UECE. In the text we sought to understand how native populations and cultures in the Americas are covered in the 6^th grade textbook, which is part of the collection “History, Society & Citizenship” by author Alfredo Boulos Júnior published by FTD Publisher in 2018 for Middle School Education. The analyses focus more specifically on chapter 7, “Indigenous Peoples of the America”, given it is the only chapter to address these societies. By choosing this book, we considered the wide use of it in schools in the Baixo Jaguaribe region, Ceará, during the period in which the collection was in force. In the analyses it is problematized about whether the textbook offers content, sources, proposals and methodologies that generates discussions about cultural diversity of these populations, enabling a critical and inclusive teaching-learning process.