Edward Doolittle is Kanyen’kehake (Mohawk) from Six Nations in southern Ontario.  He earned a PhD in pure mathematics (partial differential equations) from the University of Toronto in 1997.  From then until 2001 he worked for Queen’s University’s Aboriginal Teacher Education Program, helping to administer the program and teaching Indigenous mathematics education, and from 2000 to 2001 he studied the Mohawk language in immersion with Onkwewenna Kentsyohkwa (Our Language Group) on Six Nations. 

From 2001 he has been on the faculty of First Nations University and the University of Regina, currently as Associate Professor of Mathematics and Associate Dean, Research and Graduate Programs.  He is a Fellow of the Canadian Mathematical Society (CMS), a recipient of the Adrien Pouliot Award from the CMS in recognition of significant contributions to mathematics education in Canada, and recipient of a Governor General’s Gold Medal.

Word Puzzles in Indigenous Languages

Word puzzles can be a valuable tool in language learning and language skill building. Edward Doolittle (Mohawk from Six Nations) and his mathematics graduate student Layne Burns (Cree from James Smith) will study methods for developing high quality word puzzles in Indigenous languages through means which are largely or entirely automatic. The study will require a multi-dimensional approach including algorithm development, software implementation, language resource development, and testing and evaluation in an educational context. The products will include language learning resources in selected languages and apps for use by teachers.