Indigenous people used math to count inventories and measure shapes for buildings. They added, subtracted, multiplied, and divided and some had symbols for fractions. Geometric shapes are used in indigenous art; circles are important in Coast Salish art, and four is a sacred number representing the four seasons, four stages of life and the four directions. Indigenous ancestors used geometry in art and engineered structures; tipis are the perfect shape for their purpose, and igloos and canoes are remarkable structures.

Ontario Métis, Dr. Shawn Desaulniers, says math helps us to understand how things work. Chickasaw Nation astronaut, John Herrington, shows us examples of math in nature; we see the Fibonacci sequence in the spirals of shells, and the spiral is an old symbol in many indigenous cultures.

COYOTE’S CRAZY SMART SCIENCE SHOW (Coyote Science) draws on wisdom from pioneers in Indigenous education, bridging the worlds of Indigenous and Western science. BIO: Created by Loretta Todd, a Métis–Cree filmmaker.