Fostering Indigenous STEM Education: Mobilizing the Adventure Learning Framework through Snow Snakes

In this contribution to JAIE’s new section, Reports from the Field, the authors examine a novel approach to engaging elementary students with science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) content through the culturally based context of an Indigenous game. In an attempt to engage students in meaningful ways, the framework for the curriculum contains three carefully integrated elements: (1) a culturally-based game, (2) an explicit integration of STEM content, and (3) a hybrid educational approach known as adventure learning (AL). The culturally based game of snow snakes, traditional to many American Indian communities, was the situating context. This curriculum integrated scientific content and inquiry, technological solutions, engineering design principles, and mathematical reasoning under the auspices of the snow snake context within an AL environment. This article also posits the organic coupling of the AL framework with elements of Indigenous education as offered by Cajete (1994). To achieve this, AL, Indigenous education elements, and the enacted snow snake curriculum are presented in unison.