Indigenous leader Capitão Potiguara receives honorary doctorate from UFPB

José Ciríaco Sobrinho, known as Capitão Potiguara, a 69‑year‑old indigenous leader from the Aldeia São Francisco in Baía da Traição, Paraíba, was awarded a doctor honoris causa by the Federal University of Paraíba (UFPB) in João Pessoa on Friday, 7 May. The ceremony highlighted his decades‑long advocacy for indigenous education, land rights and the inclusion of traditional knowledge in academia.

Capitão Potiguara, who began working at UFPB in the late 1970s and later became a federal public servant, created the university’s Indigenous Working Group, helped expand the campus network, and participated in the regularisation of Potiguara, Jacaré de São Domingos and Monte‑Mór indigenous lands. In his acceptance speech he urged indigenous youth to pursue higher education, saying, “Do not be afraid to occupy these spaces… study, seek knowledge, and return to strengthen your communities.”