> Math + science = Aboriginal success

Document Tools

(Includes later correction)

Contact:
William Lindsay, 778.782.8924, wlindsay@sfu.ca
Carol Thorbes, PAMR, 778.782.3035, cthorbes@sfu.ca

No

William Lindsay, the director of Simon Fraser University’s Office for Aboriginal Peoples (OAP), hopes a free, public OAP event will motivate educators to work harder to ensure Canadian Aboriginals succeed in math and science.

The event will be held in the Interdisciplinary Research in Mathematical and Computational Sciences (IRMACS) Centre on Sept. 29, 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. and feature five speakers, including Lindsay. They will share their views and experiences on:

• Teaching math at the Native Education Centre (NEC), a Vancouver-based, private Aboriginal college.
• Pursuing science as a career path.
• Negotiating on behalf of Aboriginal students in a university setting.
• Working with math and science teachers in elementary and high schools with a significant Aboriginal population.
• Teaching math to Aboriginal students in SFU’s Aboriginal University Preparation Program.  

“Educators need to be more aware of correlations between the lack of education among Aboriginal Peoples and the Third World conditions of poverty that many still find themselves in,” says Lindsay.

He adds educators must also address Aboriginal Peoples’ lack of post secondary education in math and sciences and gravitation to careers in those disciplines. Last year, educators meeting nationally agreed that success in math is critical to Aboriginal students’ attainment of cultural, political and economic equity in Canada.

“We need to lobby the federal government to increase its financial support for Aboriginal post secondary students, as thousands of them are on waiting lists for funding,” notes Lindsay. “According to government statistics, the number of Aboriginal post secondary students receiving federal financial support has dropped from close to 30,000 to around 22,000 in the last 10 years.”

Andrew Petter, SFU’s new president who pioneered several significant Aboriginal initiatives while serving at the University of Victoria and in the provincial government, is committed to seeing the university foster Aboriginal students’ academic success.

“SFU is in the process of implementing a comprehensive Aboriginal strategic plan,” notes Petter. “Addressing Aboriginal Peoples’ academic needs and increasing their representation at SFU are key objectives of that plan.”

—30—

Backgrounder: Math + science = Aboriginal success

There are close to 150 new Aboriginal students entering SFU this fall, which brings their total population at the university to 500. That means SFU has already reached its goal of boosting its Aboriginal student population by 10 per cent between 2010 and 2013.

The upcoming OAP event’s presenters are educators who either teach math and science to Aboriginal students or have published work about Aboriginal culture and issues.

SFU archaeology instructor and alumnus Rudy Reimer will talk about how a good grounding in math and science has paved his way to becoming an Aboriginal academic success. The Squamish Nation member researches the indigenous social and ideological meaning of the origins of 10,000-year-old artifacts found in the Squamish area. Other speakers are:

• Lillian Prince, President of Warriors Against Violence in Society, NEC Aboriginal Adult Basic Education Program coordinator and teacher, Tlazt’en Nation (North Central B.C.) member;
• Melania Alvarez, Pacific Institute for the Mathematical Sciences (PIMS)-B.C. education coordinator;
• William Lindsay, SFU OAP director, formerly teacher and administrator at several Lower Mainland colleges and universities, including NEC, Institute for Indigenous Government, Douglas College and UBC, Cree-Stoney Nations (Alberta) member; and
• Veselin Jungic, SFU math senior lecturer and adjunct professor, IRMACS research director, SFU Aboriginal University Preparation program instructor, SFU/PIMS math instructor at Vancouver Aboriginal Friendship Centre.

After the presentations and some discussion, Jungic will premier Small Number Counts to 100, a short animation movie co-written by him and intended to be a math education resource based on Aboriginal culture.



According to the Assembly of First Nations, only 27 per cent of Canada’s status Indian population holds a post secondary certificate, diploma or degree compared to 46 per cent of the rest of the Canadian population.

While 10 per cent of non-indigenous people in Canada do not finish high school, the dropout rate among on-reserve Aboriginal Peoples is 70 per cent.

—30—

CORRECTION: The figures in the first paragraph of the Backgrounder above are in error. The paragraph should read: "SFU expects that the total headcount for Aboriginal students for 2009-2010 will be about 450 undergraduate students and 85 graduate students, for a total of 535. This would be an increase of about 20 students from 2008-2009."

Comments

Comment Guidelines