Abstract:
An Indigenous research paradigm collectively described by Wilson (2008), Archibald (2008), and Kovach (2009) has yet to be applied to research in undergraduate math education, and specifically at a Tribally Controlled College/University (TCU). This dissertation contains four distinct, peer-reviewed published articles. Throughout the study, articulating D/Lakota math connections was both the process and the product. In math classrooms at TCUs, calls for local language/culture to be more integrated into the curriculum have been met with epistemological challenges as well as a dearth of math and local culture resources. This D/Lakota Math Connections study addresses both challenges at and with Sitting Bull College (SBC) in Standing Rock Nation. Following an Indigenous research paradigm focusing on relationality and relational accountability, groups of tribal college math instructors, Lakota language immersion teachers, and fluent elders experienced, confirmed, and refined the D/Lakota Math Connections framework. They also developed a community-based math resource for curriculum development at SBC and more broadly Očéthi Sakówiŋ.