A single eagle feather sits on the kitchen table in Simon MonteithB次元官网网址檚 home.

Next to it is an array of household products including hydrogen peroxide, dish soap, food colouring and a baking dish.

The scene depicts the two worlds the nine-year-old walks.

From a science perspective, feathers aid in thrust, enabling flight. From a First Nations perspective, an eagle feather is a symbol of respect.

B次元官网网址淚 like to look at things from two or more perspectives,B次元官网网址� says Simon.

For the past two years, the Cree youth from Opaskwayak Cree Nation in northern Manitoba has been virtually inviting others into his Winnipeg home to share his love of all things science related.

Using his kitchen as a backdrop, Simon has produced roughly 60 educational videos and posted them to social media under the moniker Simon The Scientist.

The project started at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, when Simon approached his mom about creating a video to help explain the virus to other children and youth. It expanded into content on geology, technology and chemistry.

Jacqueline Monteith says her son has always had the ability to understand complex concepts in an original way.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 fascinating that a kid has a unique ability to teach scientific concepts or complex concepts to other children in a very unique way. Kids teaching kids is a way that children will understand as opposed to adults trying to teach children,B次元官网网址� says Monteith.

SimonB次元官网网址檚 love of science came at an early age.

B次元官网网址淚t wasnB次元官网网址檛 really a specific thing that made me interested in science. ItB次元官网网址檚 just sort of who I am,B次元官网网址� he says.

Simon hopes to reach groups who are under-represented in the sciences field.

For Rob Cardinal, this same goal was what prompted him to help found IndigeSTEAM, an organization providing Indigenous-led and culturally relevant programming to Indigenous youth and other under-represented groups.

The organization takes its name from the acronym STEM: science, technology, engineering and mathematics. The group incorporates arts, architecture and agriculture in their programming to form STEAM. This represents areas where Indigenous peoples have been innovators for thousands of years.

B次元官网网址淜nowledge is knowledge. Our ways and culture are so applicable in these times,B次元官网网址� says Cardinal.

A 2020 study from the Conference Board of Canada found Indigenous students are more engaged with a curriculum that bridges Indigenous ways of knowing with Western science.

The board tracked more than 100 different programs in Canada aimed at helping Indigenous learners succeed in STEM. The study found while there has been a push to reach Indigenous students in early years, there is still a gap in preparing students in high school for post-secondary studies in STEM.

Indigenous people make up four per cent of adults in Canada, but less than two per cent of those working in STEM.

There is a lack of financial, technical and community resources, says Doug Dokis, director of ActuaB次元官网网址檚 Indigenous Youth in STEM program.

The national education organization is one of the countryB次元官网网址檚 largest STEM outreach organizations. It has built relationships with 200 Indigenous communities to provide programming to about 35,000 youth.

While work is being done on the ground and through various programs, there still hasnB次元官网网址檛 been a cohesive national effort to improve Indigenous educational outcomes and participation in the STEM fields, added Dokis, who is Anishinaabe from Dokis First Nation in Ontario.

Dokis says in recent years, the industry has relied on Indigenous knowledge when it comes to climate and land sustainability.

B次元官网网址淚ndigenous people have always known about STEM at the highest level. Indigenous knowledges are now becoming a focal point for addressing some of the current social, environmental and economic challenges that society as a whole in Canada faces.B次元官网网址�

Cardinal says itB次元官网网址檚 important for Indigenous youth to have role models.

Cardinal is Blackfoot from Siksika First Nation and an astrophysicist. After discovering a comet, Cardinal says one of his elders told him that he had an obligation to his nation to share his knowledge, prompting him to shift into a mentorship role.

Cardinal hopes to show youth there is a space for them in the sciences.

B次元官网网址淕ive them some inspiration and give them some pride.B次元官网网址�

Back in Winnipeg, Simon is becoming a mentor in his own right.

He wants to turn his passion project into a television show to reach more youth. He has submitted a business plan to Pow Wow Pitch, a competition for Indigenous entrepreneurs, and is a semifinalist.

B次元官网网址�(I want to) help support the ideas of other kids so they can do what they want, which might not be science or might be science, but I want to help kids find their dream.B次元官网网址�

Brittany Hobson, The Canadian Press

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