Walking with two forces: A comprehensive profile of Embera Chamí teachers and facilitators and the challenges they face between formal schooling and their own traditional education in the Cauca Valley

Abstract

This article characterizes the sociodemographic, pedagogical, and cultural identity profile of 30 teacher-students from the Educational Institution of the Embera Nation of Valle del Cauca (IENEV). The research was conducted from a qualitative and interpretive approach, supported by Participatory Action Research (PAR) and the systematization of experiences, with the aim of understanding the educational practices developed by facilitators of Indigenous education in rural and multigrade classroom contexts. The findings reveal that Indigenous teachers embody a dual profile, acting simultaneously as community leaders legitimized by ancestral knowledge and as professionals in training who mediate between traditional knowledge and the requirements of the official educational system. The study also identifies tensions between state administrative and curricular demands and the cultural mandates aimed at ensuring the survival of the Embera Chamí people. Key findings highlight the strong command of the Eberá Bedé language, the use of territory as a fundamental pedagogical setting, and spiritual harmonization as a cross-cutting educational practice. Finally, the study proposes the image of the “Embera of the Future,” understood as an individual capable of integrating ancestral, professional, and technological knowledge without renouncing cultural identity. It concludes that Indigenous education constitutes a strategy of resistance, decolonization, and cultural strengthening for the continuity of the Embera Chamí people.