« Indigenous and raced: Nitasha Tamar Sharma, ‘Race and Indigeneity in Pacific Islands and Settler Colonial Studies’, Critical Ethnic Studies, 7, 2, 2021
Reflecting on Asian settler colonialisms: Malaya Caligtan-Tran, Marimas Hosan Mostiller, Megumi Chibana, Katherine Achacoso, ‘On the Politics of Indigeneity and Asian Settler Colonialism in Asia: A Roundtable Discussion’, Amerasia Journal, 2025 »

Settler mnemonics: Charles Sepulveda, José Francisco Gutiérrez, Kēhaulani Natsuko Vaughn, ‘Sohcahtoa: settler mnemonics and the state of exception’, AlterNative, 2025

19Dec25

Abstract: A Riverside, California, schoolteacher taught the mnemonic sohchatoa to her high school mathematics class in the fall of 2021. The lesson plan included “playing Indian,” with a headdress, tomahawk chopping, and war whooping. She was previously featured in several yearbooks and the school’s social media accounts wearing her headdress. Although her performance went viral and ultimately led to her dismissal, how do we account for the lesson plan and performance, given that it had been well accepted for years? In this article, we argue that settler mnemonics are beyond individual acts. They are the status quo. Settler mnemonics serve as memory devices that remind settlers of their nativeness, ensuring settler futurity. We argue that the performance illustrates a state of exception where standard rules, practices, and/or legalities are suspended. Despite mathematics’ supposed apolitical position in education, it is subject to discourse that reflects and recreates settler possession of Native people and their lands.


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