During my schooling, mathematics was not very consistent for me. Sometimes I was the smartest at a topic, and sometimes I could not grasp the concept of what I was being taught. Overall, I found math challenging and frustrating. Many students also were in the same boat as me regarding math. I found a little bit of oppression with mathematics in school, and to this day, I still see the stereotypes target a particular race. The stereotype that often went around was any individual of the Asian race was intelligent and good at math. These stereotypes are very discouraging, and it puts much pressure on Asian students. The pressure that is placed would be if a student of Asian descent struggles with math, then other students might judge them, or if this student is good at math, it just reassures other students who are not of this race that their stereotype is correct. Society is very singular-minded, and the people with power and authority want everyone to think the same. This does create oppression and discrimination, and I agree entirely. We as a population need to work to be better at encouraging less single-minded individuals who are not open to differences or change.
Something that I find very interesting is that the Inuit, who are a part of the Indigenous culture, have different math systems than a Eurocentric view. Still, this is much more beneficial because it makes way more sense to their environment. They are also not the only culture that has gotten away from the Eurocentric view of mathematics, and I believe that is for the best. It may help these cultures understand better and be more inclined to the education presented to these students because it pertains to their lives. Inuit students also learn math in their mother tongue, Inuktitut. This can change the perspectives on what they are learning. For example, certain words can be confusing when it comes to fractions. The students learning in French or English compared to those learning Inuktitut will have different learning styles and may learn different knowledge based on the language. An area that I find very interesting is how the Inuit culture started measuring and sometimes still does. They sometimes use body parts like finds, forearms, etc. The article also mentioned how they might even use objects like boots. This is very interesting.
The Inuit culture does not always follow the Eurocentric view of mathematics. I do not necessarily believe that, in all ways, it is better or worse. It is just different, and there is nothing wrong with differences.