Mathematical and Indigenous Futures:
Generational Journeys
May 11 and May 18, 2021 Virtual
Summary
Although held virtually the 2021 Indigenous Math Symposium was a huge success. More than 250 people registered for Session 1 May 11 and Session 2 May 18, 2021. Session 1 featured Beadwork and Mathwork with Anishinaabe artist Nico Williams. In Session 2 our Igniting the Sparkle Sharing Circle featured 14 educators sharing their ideas, projects, and innovations related to connecting math, community and culture.
Our theme Mathematical and Indigenous Futures: Generational Journeys speaks to awareness and actions toward futures – beyond connections to culture rooted in traditions and traditional practices and toward bringing together the past, present and future. Drawing upon the past provides opportunities for futuristic thinking. Our focus on Mathematical and Indigenous Futures recognizes the future – not only where we are going but also who we are – as opportunities for mathematical inquiry.
Session 1: Beadwork and mathwork with artist Nico Williams
Our featured speaker embodies the melding of tradition and futuristic thinking. Nico Williams, is Anishinaabe from Aam-jiw-naang First Nation currently working in Tiohtià:ke / Mooniyang / Montreal where he is also completing his MFA at Concordia University. Nico is an active member in the urban Indigenous Montreal Arts community, a board member for the Contemporary Native Art Biennial, and a member of the Contemporary Geometric Beadwork research team. Our work with Nico continues with a community beading project in fall 2021.
Download beading resources PDF
Click to view or post your images of beadwork and mathwork: Beading Beading Beading Padlet
Session 2: Igniting the Sparkle Sharing Circles
Megan H
Megan H is from the Métis Nation. She works as an Indigenous
Education Teacher on the territory of the Musqueam, Squamish, and
Tsleil-Waututh Nations at the Vancouver School District.
Megan shared her paper drum project. Here, students
explored all the math behind making a drum, as well as discuss the
cultural aspects of drum making, owning, and playing. For the
younger grades, students can practice estimation and measurement
skills. Older students can explore measuring 3D shapes.
Download presentation resource PDF
Kammi Clark
My name is Kammi Clark and I am the Vice Principal and one of the
Learning Support Teachers at Norgate Xwemélch’stn Elementary in
North Van.
As part of the Dogwood 25 initiative, teachers from the NVSD
explored ways to bring Indigenous perspectives into mathematics.
For my part, in the role of LST, I led and supported a school-wide
exploration of spirals and the Fibonacci Sequence that connected to
land, place, story and Indigenous knowledge.
Download presentation resource PDF
Dr. Christine Ho Younghusband
Dr. Christine Ho Younghusband is an Assistant Professor at the
University of Northern British Columbia teaching in the Teacher
Education Program. Former secondary math teacher in BC public
schools and researching about identity and system change.
My journey with Indigenous Education and mathematics spans over a
decade and I wonder about decolonizing curriculum and what it
could look like. A “Location Statement” I wrote, inspired by Dr. Henry
Harder at UNBC, reshaped my thinking about bias, world views, and
mathematics epistemology and pedagogy.
Download presentation resource PDF
David Sufrin
David taught Math in Haida Gwaii for 10 years and worked at a
remote youth camp there. This experience changed his life view. He
taught high school math for another 27 years and currently teaches
Education at VIU.
I will be sharing the work being done at the Faculty of Education,
Vancouver Island University which seeks to integrate Indigenous
culture, and ways of knowing and learning with the K – 12 BC Math
Curriculum. We continue to learn from Elders, knowledge carriers,
the students, and our own relationships to the land and its peoples.
Download presentation resource PDF
Melody Watson
Melody is an educator from SD 85. She is passionate about fostering
a love of numeracy in her students. Melody has been enjoying
learning about ways to incorporate more place-based learning and
culture into math.
A.J. Elliott Elementary is a small school located in Sointula on
Malcolm Island. Last year we started a cedar math inquiry as a whole
school. I am sharing a few highlights of this inquiry including forest
discovery, non-standard measuring, shapes in our forest, weaving,
and bentwood boxes.
Download presentation resource PDF
Sara Salemink
Sara Salemink is the Principal of Brentwood Elementary in
Brentwood Bay, BC. Her passion areas in supporting student learning
are community connection, numeracy, and the arts.
The SENĆOŦEN number card project was an idea developed by our
Kindergarten team at Brentwood Elementary. Educators collaborated
to develop a project that connects our local language and art with
the concept of numbers 1 through 10. We were pleased to have
collaboration from a local artist on this project and to share our
project across our school district.
Download presentation resource PDF
Amanda Enterkin
I am a guest in Stó:lō territory, Indigenous but from another river. I
have tutored math for most of my life, translating processes through
manipulatives and stories. I am currently an EA on route to
elementary teacher training.
Upper level math does not lend itself easily to Indigenization. There
seems to be no intrinsic inquiry for trigonometry or complex interest
formulas, whereas concepts such as proportional reasoning are more
relevant. Is the goal to add content to existing curriculum or have
authentic application throughout?
Download presentation resource PDF
Joy Fast
Joy is a grad student in the MAED program at UBC and a grade
one teacher for the Delta School District. Joy is passionate about
making meaning and developing community as we find ourselves
through sharing our stories.
Working with the First Peoples Principle of Learning and Indigenous
Storywork, Joy is seeking to develop understanding of how to
participate in storywork that leads to rich mathematical discourse,
increases teacher understanding of student learning and creates
connections for all students.
Jess Kyle
Jess is currently one of Surrey’s Numeracy Helping Teachers and
works to create classrooms that are creative, responsive and
social. She has a strong belief that the First Peoples Principles of
Learning support rich and equitable practices in all areas of the
curriculum.
Jess is sharing a project that I was invited to participate in by Nadine
McSpadden. The project connected Numeracy and Coast Salish
Weaving through coding with grades 2-7. One key question from this
project for me has been: What I am learning about doing this work as
a non-indigenous educator?
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David Barnum
David currently teaches grade 3 and works as an FA in the SFU Place
And Nature-Based Experiential Learning program. He is passionate
about taking the students into natural spaces and the community, as
foundational to their learning.
Grade 3 students observed and journaled about ecosystems and
embraced a First Peoples Principle of Learning: connectedness and
sense of place. The next step in this project is to use Mathematics as
a way of unpacking new layers of meaning.
Download presentation resource PDF
Emily Gresham
I am a settler, grateful to be learning on the
ancestral, unceded and traditional lands of the coast Salish peoples,
including the Squamish, Tsleil Waututh and Musqueam nations. I’m a
grade 6/7 teacher at Henderson Elementary School in Vancouver BC.
I will be sharing about my experience learning from and collaborating
with Anjeanette Dawson, a Squamish weaver. Anjeanette has shared
her teachings at the UBC math symposium for a number of years. I’m
super excited to share how she has inspired me to bring Squamish
weaving into the 6/7 classroom.
Download presentation resource PDF
Jen Whiffin
Jen is currently a Numeracy Mentoring Support Teacher in the
Coquitlam School District, working with teachers and schools to
develop and strengthen inclusive approaches to math instruction.
What stories does the land hold and how might math help us surface
these stories? Jen shared her exploration of these questions and
her work with elementary school teachers in using a problem-posing
structure inspired by Alan Bishop to support land-based inquiry.
Stephanie Maki
Stephanie is currently a Vice Principal with 26 years of experience
with North Vancouver School District. She was an Indigenous
Academic Support Teacher and Indigenous Secondary Resource
Teacher and holds a M.Ed. in Leadership: Indigenous Education.
Stephanie has presented in Canada and the US and contributed to
many curriculum initiatives; she also has a chapter in Learning,
Knowing, Sharing: Celebrating Successes in K-12 Aboriginal Education
in British Columbia.
Stephanie shared experiences of embedding Indigenous perspectives in math
(Grade 5/6) and participating in the Dogwood 25 Initiative this year.
Download presentation resource PDF
Tannis Calder
Tannis is the District Learning Coordinator for Indigenous Learning in
the Nanaimo-Ladysmith Public schools (SD68).
Tannis shared her work on connecting Coast Salish stories to
concepts in patterns and linear relations for grades 4 – 9.