Native American Mathematics: Dr. Robert Megginson, University of Michigan

Friday, February 27, 2015 11 a.m. to noon
Robert E. Megginson



Arthur F. Thurnau Professor of Mathematics
University of Michigan

In the early 1930s, Will Ryan, Director of Indian Education for
the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), eliminated algebra and geometry from the
Uniform Course of Study in BIA schools. This was done in a
well-intentioned, but misguided effort to make BIA education more culturally
relevant for American Indians.

 



Their belief was that mathematics has had no historical or
cultural importance for the indigenous peoples of the Western
Hemisphere. In fact, examples abound of the importance of mathematics
in many Native cultures of the Americas. The well-developed number systems
of pre-contact Mesoamerica are probably the most well-known. This system
will be presented along with some of its number-theoretic underpinnings and
consequences, as well as the cultural values that led to some of its structure.

 



BIO: Dr. Megginson has been very involved in the problems of minority
mathematics education, especially that of Native Americans. He is a Sequoyah
Fellow of the American Indian Science and Engineering Society, and works
actively through the programs of this organization to further the participation
of native american people in mathematics.
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Location:

Mathematical Sciences Building: 318


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Speaker/Lecture/Seminar

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University of Michigan