RunningHorse Livingston

(he, him, his)

Managing Consultant, Native and Culturally Responsive Education

Growing up in a small community and experiencing the sometimes-harsh realities of historical trauma, RunningHorse was inspired at a young age to make his community better. That led to a 17-year career in education as an instructional coach in mathematics. He has traveled to and worked with learning communities from Hawaii to Maine and Alaska to Florida. He has learned that despite the differences we celebrate, we experience similar challenges in education. RunningHorse chose mathematics because at its core is problem solving, and problem solving is what we do when we don’t know what to do. He believes this is a life skill—one that should be practiced more than 50 minutes per day. He has dedicated his professional career to helping others develop problem-solving skills while making math experiences and learning more impactful, particularly for Indigenous children. RunningHorse’s role at Education Northwest provides an opportunity to collaborate with the organization’s other staff members to advance this personal and professional goal.

As an eighth-grader RunningHorse participated in his first American Indian Science & Engineering Society (AISES) Summer Camp. It was the first time he witnessed people actually using math and science in real life. He was mesmerized. AISES has been a part of his life ever since. In 2006 while finishing his master’s degree, RunningHorse started a company called Mathematize, Inc., to get other Indigenous people as excited about math and science as he is. The company provided various services but primarily professional learning for teachers of Indigenous learners. In 2012, he collaborated with a school in northern Minnesota that served the Bois Forte Band of Ojibwe. That year, the school’s test scores went from 27 to 94 percent proficient on the state exam, the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessment. The school went from being categorized as a priority school to a reward school that same year. This was RunningHorse’s first time being a part of such a successful collaboration and reaffirmed the amazing things we are capable of when we work together. More importantly, he was able to bear witness to the impact of culturally responsive teaching on Indigenous learners. For RunningHorse, getting children excited about learning means finding the intersection of self-efficacy and good teaching.

Education

• B.A., American Indian Studies, University of Minnesota Twin Cities
• M.Ed., Curriculum Theory and Design, University of Minnesota Duluth

I dream of going to...

Bed and getting a full 8 hours

My favorite animal is... (and why)

An otter because - look at them!

My kryptonite is...

My daughter's smile