Term
Summer 2026
Capstone
Capstone Project
Degree Name
MAT
Facilitator(s)
Jana Lo Bello Miller
Content Expert
Michelle Sherrard
Abstract
The invisibility of Native Americans in mainstream mathematics education has contributed to the academic underachievement and cultural disconnect experienced by Native American youth. Grounded in the frameworks of Tribal Critical Race Theory (TribalCrit), culturally relevant teaching, and ethnomathematics, this project investigates: How can the historical and current cultural contexts, mathematical understandings, perspectives, and issues relating to Dakota, Anishinaabe, and Urban Indigenous communities be incorporated into Minnesota middle school math curriculum in a way that fosters strong math identities among Native American students and supports the needs of Minnesota’s American Indian tribes and communities? Along with research on the intersectionality of identity and mathematics, this capstone includes a website for middle school mathematics educators. The website provides an annotated collection of reliable instructional resources and concrete application problems that connect Native-related topics to seventh-grade state math standards. This project aims to help teachers foster strong mathematical identities among Native American students, while providing non-Native students with accurate, respectful windows into Indigeneity. Ultimately, this work seeks to support the ongoing efforts of Minnesota’s tribal nations in strengthening tribal sovereignty and reciprocity within the education system.
Project Type
Website Creation
Keywords
Mathematics, Multicultural Education, Social Justice
Recommended Citation
Ahmed, Tia, "Decolonizing Minnesota Mathematics: Incorporating Indigeneity into Middle School Mathematics" (2026). School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects. 1213.
https://digitalcommons.hamline.edu/hse_cp/1213
dc_type
text
dc_publisher
DigitalCommons@Hamline
dc_format
application/pdf
dc_source
School of Education Student Capstone Projects