Manuela Sarmiento

A Colombian educator who pioneered indigenous language preservation and rural schooling in South America

Manuela Sarmiento (1828-1903) was an visionary educator from Colombia who revolutionized Latin American pedagogy through her work preserving indigenous languages and establishing rural schools. Born in Cauca Department to a mestizo family, she learned multiple Indigenous languages from her grandmother, later using this knowledge to create bilingual education systems. In 1855, she founded the first Quechua-Spanish school in Popayán, a model that spread across Andean communities.

Sarmiento's most impactful innovation was the Living Language Methodology (1868), which integrated oral traditions and cultural practices into curricula. This approach preserved over 20 Indigenous languages and led to the creation of the first written alphabets for the Páez and Nasa Yuwe peoples. Her 1872 publication Manual de Educación Bilingüe para Pueblos Indígenas became a foundational text for multicultural education in the region.

She established 37 rural schools between 1860-1890, often in conflict zones, ensuring education access during Colombia's Thousand Days' War. Her advocacy led to the 1886 Law of Indigenous Education, mandating bilingual instruction in regions with native populations. Sarmiento also trained hundreds of Indigenous teachers through her Teacher Training Institute, creating a sustainable educational infrastructure.

Contemporary anthropologists like Dr. Juan Carlos Rivera credit her with 'saving Andean languages from extinction' in his study Andean Language Revival. Her methods influenced later movements like Mexico's Escuelas Rurales and are still used in UNESCO's Indigenous Education programs. The United Nations declared her legacy in 2015 as a 'pioneer of intercultural education', with her birthday observed as National Indigenous Education Day in Colombia.