The Iglu and the Tent: Centring the Northern Voice in Mathematics Teaching

Authors

  • Fok-Shuen Leung Mathematics Department University of British Columbia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.37119/ojs2019.v25i1.423

Keywords:

indigenous, inuit, education, math

Abstract

This work was inspired by conversations with a community of practice based at Nunavut Arctic College in Iqaluit, including Andrea Burry, Maryse Cohen, Goota Jaw, Kaviq Kaluraq, and Gloria Uluqsi. The author gratefully acknowledges their contributions, as well as the
indispensable contribution of the land itself.

We outline the broad epistemic tendencies of Inuit and Qallunaaq[i] teaching, in the context of a faculty member in the Mathematics department of a large, research-oriented Qallunaaq university. We argue that, against the recommendations of academic literature, historical support and personal experience, the South maintains a position of strong cultural assertiveness. Finally, we propose two shifts in position, aimed at protecting the North and learning from it, that centre the Inuit voice.


[i] While Qallunaaq simply means “non-Inuit” (the noun is Qallunaat), the implied meaning here, as in common usage, is “settler Canadian” or “settler North American”.

Author Biography

Fok-Shuen Leung, Mathematics Department University of British Columbia

Fok-Shuen Leung is a faculty member in the Mathematics Department at the University of British Columbia. He did his doctoral work in number theory at Oxford University with Roger Heath-Brown. He is currently Academic Director of First Year Experience at UBC.

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Published

2019-06-13

Issue

Vol. 25 No. 1 (2019): Spring 2019 [Teaching and Learning] in education

Section

Essay

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