Education

How Indigenous Groups Raise Youth Who Are Passionate About Math


Every summer, something wondrous happens in the remote areas of Arizona, Utah, New Mexico, and Oklahoma. Families travel for hours to join a week-long gathering celebrating math, friendship, and Indigenous culture. They look forward to a math camp organized by the Alliance of the Indigenous Math Circles (AIMC). The program, which has been in operation for more than eight years, grew out of the Navajo Nation Math Circles. The Alliance arranges mathematicians’ visits to schools, runs math teachers’ workshops, and supports informal math gatherings known as math circles, helping to raise a new generation of Indigenous mathematicians, researchers, and STEM professionals.  

“Mathematics is the birthright of every human. It brings joy and deep satisfaction, like music and poetry. Unfortunately, regular school math rarely provides an authentic experience of mathematics,” says David Austin, of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, professor of mathematics at Grand Valley State University, Michigan, and one of the Alliance directors.  AIMC math camps and events bring the community together, providing every participant with a holistic, immersive cultural experience of joyful and mindful math exploration. They help students to forge mathematical camaraderie with their peers, nurturing their identities as Indigenous researchers. “Math feels magical,” one teacher recalls overhearing a Hopi student say to a friend after class, “and we can create it together.”  

Besides the American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES), the AIMC gets guidance and support from the elders of many tribes and nations, such as the Navajo, Hopi, Chickasaw, Choctaw, and others. Former AIMC students attending STEM programs at tribal colleges or universities such as Arizona State and Stanford come back year after year to serve as mentors and role models. 

The math camp breaks the rural students’ isolation from the global scientific community, introducing children to enthusiastic researchers from various backgrounds who are eager to share their passion. Some of the largest professional mathematical organizations in the country, the AMS (American Mathematical Society) and the MAA (Mathematical Association of America), send volunteers to support the project. Students and scientists eat, work and spend their spare time together.  

The mathematicians, who serve as facilitators and guides, introduce students to rigorous problems that require deep mathematical thinking and mental flexibility, rather than knowledge of specific methods. Such an approach allows children of different ages to appreciate each other’s input and collaborate productively. In contrast with regular schoolwork, where students are often expected to produce a result in a matter of minutes, AIMC math problems may require days of pondering, math modeling, collaboration, and group discussion. These contemplation and perseverance habits will later pay off, not only in mathematics but in all areas of life. 

Of course, mathematics is not just a tool for developing a sharp mind and meeting like-minded peers. “There is a profound need for mathematics in our society,” says Austin. “It empowers whole nations and helps to tackle social issues like housing, educational access, pollution and public health”. 

The pandemic has hit the tribal territories particularly hard, halting planned educational programs. The deep digital divide prevents students in remote areas from accessing math resources online. But the Alliance is looking for innovative ways of supporting the community. This year, in place of a math camp, a mathematical newsletter was distributed to the families alongside food and water. In addition, AIMC aims to pilot-test “math activity boxes,” to be developed in collaboration with Natural Math. The math kits, which would be sent to families, would include problems, explanations for solving them, and math volunteer contacts, to support family bonding over math. AIMC also plans to invite leading scientists to run K-12 webinars on cutting-edge science topics. 

“There’s a faulty perception that doing mathematics requires “natural ability,” remarks Austin. “To get beyond that perception, we guide students to a new experience of thinking about mathematics using well-crafted questions that engage their curiosity and lead to open-ended explorations.” Over the past eight years, the Alliance has amassed invaluable knowledge about the best ways to introduce rigorous, conceptual math to Indigenous communities. This knowledge may serve as a springboard for alternative ways of teaching mathematics, bringing more bright, passionate young minds into STEM fields.



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