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UM PNW-COSMOS April news
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What is happening around the Cosmos ...

April was a busy month at UM. External Evaluator Jack Mills traveled to SKC, UM, MTech and MSU; the fourth module for the Indigenous Mentoring Program was launched; Dr. Robert Megginson talked about Native American Mathematics; and Sandy, Raquel, Aaron, Dusten and Co went to Pullman to meet with the AGEP family.

IMP Update:
The fourth module (Faculty visiting home communities) for the Indigenous Mentoring Program was presented to faculty on April 12th. It was an enlightening panel of mentors and mentees who traveled to home reservations together and with Mr. Doyle from Little Big Horn College who talked about conducting research with students in their Native communities. The next module will be on May 5th at UC 329 - 9am to 10:30am (Interface with Prospective STEM students).

Thank you to Ranalda Tsosie, Moses Leavens, Bruce Bowler, Ed Rosenberg and John Doyle.
 
AGEP meeting in Pullman, WA (WSU)
The AGEP family met at Washington State University campus on April 29th. The agenda consisted of updates on the Social Science Research Team and Indigenous Mentoring Program; working on the Recruiting Plan, Native Basket, External Advisory board recommendations, NSF Prime, and Native voices for the External Advisory Board. Minutes for the meeting will be posted on dropbox towards the end of the month.
The University of Montana's Department of Mathematical Sciences hosted a colloquium on Native American Mathematics by Dr. Robert E. Megginson.

Dr. Megginson addressed the myth that says Native Americans cannot do math, and showed the sophisticated calendar and math system that the Mayas developed.
In the month of May, Raquel will be cleaning up and reorganizing the shared dropbox for the Alliance. A table of content document will be added to the main folder to help people find files. More information in the next newsletter.
Resources Highlight:
The Montana Office of Public Instruction has several resources that you may want to bookmark. You can find it at their Indian Education webpage.

Cajete, G. (2004) Philosophy of Native Science. In American Indian Thought: Philosophical Essays by Water, A. (Ed.).
Food for thought:
"Although this may seem common sense, modem thinking abstracts the mind from the human body and the body of the world (p. 46)".

"Knowing the origins of their people, their place, and the all-important things the place contains is considered essential orientation for a tribal person. A people's origin story maps and integrates the key relationships with all aspects of the landscape (p. 46)".

"The concepts of creativity: chaos, participation, and metaphoric thinking, lend themselves specifically to the way in which Native peoples envision the process of science (p. 47)".

"The world of nature is in constant flux; therefore, Native science does not attempt to categorize firmly within the domains ofideas, concepts, or laws formed only through an analysis bent on a specific discovery, as is the case in Western scientific analysis. Rather, Native science attempts to understand the nature or essence of things. This does not mean the exclusion of rational thought, but rather the inclusion of heart and being with rational perception to move beyond the surface understanding of a thing to a relationship which includes all aspects of one's self.

Sanction of knowledge through the appropriate ritual and tribal society acknowledgment, and commitment to gain and share knowledge are important, since knowledge of the natural world and how best to relate to it is not just a matter of individual understanding but is gained and shared for the benefit and perpetuation of the community. Sanction and commitment acted as foundation safeguards for both individual and tribe and formed a kind of "check and balance" for important knowledge (p. 55).”

 
The primary sponsor for UM PNW-COSMOS is the National Science Foundation (NSF), Alliances for Graduate Education and the Professoriate - Transformation (AGEP-T), Directorate for Education and Human Resources (EHR), Division of Human Resource Development (HRD). Grant HRD # 1432694.
Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.
Copyright © 2016 The University of Montana, All rights reserved.


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