INDIGENOUS MATHEMATICIANS

In 2019, Kamuela Yong and Rebecca Garcia organized the first "Pacific Islanders in Mathematics" session at the Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS) conference held in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi. This session was, to our knowledge, the first event with the sole intent to bring together Pacific Islander mathematicians. Afterwards, plans were laid for the creation of a more formal organization for Pacific Islanders in mathematics. However, these were waylaid largely due to the impact of the 2020 global COVID-19 pandemic and its far-reaching effects on academia and educational institutions. It was also decided to expand from Pacific Islanders in mathematics to all Indigenous People in mathematics.