M1, Entry 3: Indigenous STEAM Program

Module 1: The Global and the Local in Indigenous Knowledge

Entry 3: Indigenous STEAM Program

Quick Link: Indigenous Making and Sharing: Claywork in an Indigenous STEAM Program

This article from Equity & Excellence in Education focuses on makerspaces in STEAM education with a Indigenous focus. In this study, summer activities were designed for a youth Indigenous Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math (ISTEAM) camp in the Seattle area during the summers of 2016 and 2017. The researchers asked these questions: 

• What forms of making and pedagogical practices are enacted during Indigenous making and sharing?
• How do facilitators narrate and cultivate Indigenous forms of making and sharing? (Barajas-López & Bang, 2018, p. 9)

The design of these activities were focused on Indigenous technologies and skills as well as using pedagogies such as storytelling and walking. These traditional ways of doing support the learning of Indigenous culture that was taken away through the process of colonization. The significance of this model provides agency to the Indigenous scientists leading the activities to pass along Indigenous ways of knowing, doing, and being, while youth are engaged in highly participatory learning experiences. The data in this study was collected through video and audio recordings, interviews with youth and adults, and field notes. Findings were shared through three implementation episodes and provide a detailed story of Indigenous making and sharing. 

Barajas-López, F. & Bang, M. (2018). Indigenous Making and Sharing: Claywork in an Indigenous STEAM Program. Equity & Excellence in Education, 51(1), 7-20, DOI: 10.1080/10665684.2018.1437847