Caption: The 2024 Ethnomath Symposium Opening Ceremony at the Kaʻiwakīloumoku Cultural Center was a vibrant celebration, featuring heartfelt song offerings from the Kamehameha School middle school choir and ukulele groups, alongside powerful Tlingit and Haida songs.

Honolulu, HI — This year’s symposium, the fourth iteration of this groundbreaking gathering, united over 50 educators from across the Pacific, including Tlingit Culture and Language Learning (TCLL) teachers of Juneau School District, Angoon High School, Sitka High School, Klukwan School, Gustavus High School, and Hawaiian educators from Kamehameha Schools. Co-hosted by the Kaʻiwakīloumoku Cultural Center at Kamehameha Schools and Chatham School District, the event embodied the spirit of generosity, learning, and collaboration.

The 2024 Ethnomathematics Symposium brought together formal and community-based educators to foster connections and promote rigorous and contextually meaningful mathematical learning through ethnomathematics. Ethnomathematics offers a deeper understanding of the significance and context of mathematics, as highlighted by Dr. Linda Furuto, leader of the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Ethnomathematics program, “Our vision is that every child will know who they are, where they come from and where they are going.”

The learning will continue this summer as Hawaiian cohorts travel to Juneau and Angoon, Alaska, to deepen mathematical exchanges and explore land- and sea-based knowledge systems, and three students documented the symposium through a partnership with See Stories, an organization that empowers youth through storytelling and filmmaking.

Caption: At Papahāna Kualoa, Kamehameha School educators engage with the six pillars of UH Mānoa’s Ethnomath program, blending place-based learning with values like Aloha, Laulima, and Mālama, while fostering community, culture, and a sense of legacy through hands-on collaboration.

Presenters included Kilinahe Coleman, Lilymarleen Utai, Makana Dudoit, Dr. Linda Furuto, Janel Marr, Antonina Monkoski-Takamure, Dr. Sanjay Pyare, Dr. Wendy Todd, Nikki Lineham, Makahiapo Cashman, Captain Mark Ellis, Kaiwi Hamakua-Makue, Kai Hoshijo, Pōhai Nomura, Cherish Hendrickson, Kalauihilani Robins, Marnita Coenraad, Sanya Talmi, Samantha Ramey, Tlingit elder Marsha Hotch, music and choir students of Kamehameha Schools Kapālama campus, students of Hālau Kū Māna Public Charter School, and Hawaiian musician, Makana. Together, they shared inspiring lessons, innovative pedagogy, and stories that explored the intricate relationships between mathematics, language, culture, community, and stewardship.

Symposium Highlights

• Moananuiākea Inspirations: Drawing inspiration from the Polynesian Voyaging Society’s Moananuiākea journey, participants celebrated kinships through teachings shared underneath the Hawaiʻiloa canoe. Captain Mark Ellis of the Polynesian Cultural Center also shared insights and extended an invitation to meet losepa.
• Ethnomathematics Lessons: Designed and led by educators—many of whom are graduates of the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Ethnomathematics Program —These sessions explored the spectrum of mathematics, from kindergarten through college, by experiencing themes of food sovereignty, weaving, digital mapping, and canoes.
• Service-Based Learning: Attendees participated in community-driven activities at Ka Papa Loʻi ʻo Kānewai, Papahana Kuaola, and the Marine Education Training Center, where each experience embodied the Hawaiian concept of kuleana, emphasizing the rights and responsibilities of continuing the shared journey of learning as educators return to their home communities and schools.

The symposium emphasized a commitment to strengthening connections among educators and students across the Pacific, leveraging ethnomathematics as a dynamic pathway that supports a network dedicated to meaningful, context-driven mathematical engagement.

Caption: Visiting the Hawaiʻiloa canoe and Polynesian Voyaging Society, a visionary watercraft made possible by the kinship between Alaska and Hawaiʻi—symbolizing the heartbeat of the Ethnomath Symposium. This canoe embodies the spirit of our gathering and uniting across the Pacific.

About the Co-Hosts
The Kaʻiwakīloumoku Cultural Center, part of Kamehameha Schools, serves as a hub for cultural exchange and perpetuation of Native Hawaiian traditions. Its collaboration with the symposium highlights its dedication to fostering connections across Moananuiākea.

For more information, visit the Kaʻiwakīloumoku Cultural Center and the University of Hawaiʻi Ethnomathematics Program.

Caption: A visiting educator from Klukwan, Alaska, enjoying learning about ‘losepa with Captain Mark Ellis at the Polynesian Voyaging Society, just a day before Hōkūleʻa’s much-anticipated arrival in Lā‘ie.

Media Contact:

Kate Cruz

kathryn.leigh.cruz@gmail.com

Soaring Crane Solutions, LLC

2023 Ethnomath Symposium Video