Interview with Putira Sacuena

Abstract

In this interview, Putira Sacuena shares reflections on her journey as an indigenous woman, leader, biomedical scientist, and current director of the Department of Primary Indigenous Health Care at the Indigenous Health Secretariat. The conversation articulates personal and political dimensions, composing a narrative committed to transforming the structures that have historically rendered indigenous peoples invisible. Putira reflects on her community upbringing, highlighting the knowledge inherited, especially from her paternal grandmother, a midwife in the Rio Negro territory. This knowledge, intertwined with her academic training, underpins her work as a “relatable doctor.” Based on her experience in public health and public administration, Putira discusses the challenges of training health professionals, confronting institutional racism, and the need for policies that recognize the cross-cutting nature of indigenous health within the Brazilian Unified Health System (SUS). She advocates for the strengthening of indigenous medicines as legitimate forms of care, science, and politics. Putira invites us to rethink the SUS from the perspective of indigenous territories and to recognize indigenous sciences as the foundation for truly differentiated and anti-racist care.