Leila Guerrão

A Brazilian anthropologist who revolutionized indigenous education strategies through culturally integrated curricula in the 1950s.

Leila Guerrão (1928-2005) was a Brazilian anthropologist and educator whose work transformed indigenous education methodologies. Born in Rio de Janeiro, she spent decades living among the Xingu peoples, developing the Cultural Bridge Curriculum that integrated indigenous knowledge systems with formal education. Her 1958 publication Educating Without Erasing became a blueprint for UNESCO's 1960 Indigenous Education Protocol. Guerrão's approach ensured preservation of native languages while providing access to modern skills, a model now used in over 30 countries. Despite government resistance, her training programs created 120 bilingual schools in Amazonian regions by 1970. Her legacy is celebrated in the Xingu Cultural Institute, which continues her work today.