November is Indigenous People’s Month and in today’s blog post I’d like to discuss the accomplishments, both past and present, of Indigenous people of North America in the STEM fields. For thousands of years indigenous people have engineered incredible things from transportation, housing, agriculture, and cities. They have contributed to science, medicine, anthropology, linguistics, space exploration, and so much more. Highlighted below is a list of influential Indigenous peoples’ history and accomplishments.
Edmon Perkins, Creek/Choctaw – studied piano, mathematics, and engineering as a young man. Earning a PhD in 2015 from the University of Maryland. He is an expert who has combined his interests in music, math, and engineering to create low-energy oscillators that can perform AI tasks such as audio and image classification, prediction, and compression.
Mary Golda Ross, Cherokee - An Indigenous Cherokee woman who worked as a mathematician and engineer helping to develop the P-38 Lightning fighter plane and was an author of NASA’s Planetary Flight Handbook Vol. III. Ross was an advocate for women and other indigenous people to get involved in STEM.
John Bennett Herrington, Chickasaw - known as the first Indigenous American person to go to space. He was named a mission specialist on a flight to the International Space Station (ISS) in 1992. He served as commander of the NEEMO 6 mission where he led his team to live and work underwater for 10 days. After retiring from NASA in 2005, Herrington earned a PhD in Education and tours as a motivational speaker.
Nicole Aunapu Mann, Round Valley Indian Tribe, Wailacki branch – was the first indigenous woman in space! She served as the Mission Commander for a SpaceX flight to the ISS in 2022. Not only has she earned a master's degree in mechanical engineering, but she is also a U.S. Marine Corps Colonel.
Chelsea Benally, Diné (Navajo) - was the 1st indigenous woman to graduate from the University of Alberta, earning a PhD in chemical & environmental engineering. After growing up in Flagstaff, AZ and becoming interested in helping protect the environment, Benally ended up in Alberta to pursue an education that would allow her to help First Nation communities in Canada. Not only is she environmentally conscious, but she also hopes to inspire & assist other Indigenous people to join the STEM fields.
Ka’eo Duarte, Native Hawaiian – After growing up on Kona and developing a love for the land and community, Duarte earned degrees in both civil and environmental engineering. His goal was to focus on water resources. Now he is the vice president of Kamehameha Schools’ Community and ‘Āina Resiliency Group where they have established a 10-million-dollar fund to help revamp and diversify Hawaiian food systems.
Suzanne Singer, Diné (Navajo) - after getting an education in mechanical engineering and energy analysis, Singer developed a program to help promote tribal energy independence which includes things like off-grid solar energy, as well as providing job training & education for Indigenous people.
Fred Begay, Diné (Navajo) - Earned a PhD in Physics from the University of New Mexico and worked at the Los Alamos National Laboratory. There he helped develop alternative uses to laser, electrons, and ion beams to heat thermonuclear plasmas. He earned several awards during his lifetime, including the National Science Foundation’s Lifetime Achievement Award. He passed away in 2013.
Bertha Parker Cody, Abenaki/Seneca – was an archaeologist on the expedition at Gypsum Cave when she discovered a Nothrotherium shastense skull, more commonly known as a giant ground sloth. This expedition also discovered human-made artifacts near the skull which helped further date the arrival of humans in North America.
Ella Cara Deloria (Aŋpétu Wašté Wiŋ), Yankton Dakota – was a multifaceted woman. She was an anthropologist, ethnographer, linguist, and writer. During her career she helped to preserve indigenous culture by taking recordings of oral histories. She also worked with other famous anthropologists to study and translate the Sioux language.
Jerry C. Elliot (High Eagle), Osage Cherokee – Another NASA alum! Elliot got his start as a Flight Mission Operations Engineer. He was part of the team that assisted the Apollo 13 crew return home after an explosion derailed the mission, for his part he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Robin Wall Kimmerer, Potawatomi – is an environmental biologist and writer whose research focuses on plants, ecological restoration, and combines those with the indigenous wisdom of her culture. If you have never read Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants – I highly recommend you do!
Aaron Yazzie, Diné (Navajo) - A mechanical engineer working at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory where he designs systems for robotic space research missions. His work has contributed profoundly to the development of flight hardware on missions to Mars. In 2019 he earned NASA JPL Bruce Murray Award for “promoting inclusion and excitement in science and education, especially among Indigenous Communities.”
James Makokis, Nehiyô (Plains Cree) - An Indigenous 2-spirit person who earned their medical degree in 2010 and worked to help other transgender/ nonbinary people in Northeastern Alberta gain access to medical care. Makokis and their husband competed on the "Amazing Race Canada", season 7 - winning the competition and making a statement. The pair wore hand-made red with rainbow ribbons skirts and "Water is Life" tops to help bring awareness to missing & murdered Indigenous women & 2-spirit people as well as the ongoing water crisis that are effecting Indigenous communities.
References:
Bowman, A. (Ed.). (2018, August 9). Mary Ross: A hidden figure. NASA: Mary Ross: A Hidden Figure. https://www.nasa.gov/image-article/mary-ross-hidden-figure/
CBC/Radio Canada. (2018, November 26). First Indigenous woman to earn engineering Phd at U of a aims talents at tailings ponds | CBC news. CBCnews. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/chelsea-benally-alberta-oilsands-indigenous-1.4920703
Cowen , A. (2024, November 1). Native American scientists and engineers--Native American Heritage Month in science class | science buddies blog. 11 Native American Heritage Scientists and Engineers to Learn About . https://www.sciencebuddies.org/blog/native-american-scientists-engineers
Hennessey, V. (2021, June 8). 7 indigenous people in STEM you should know. 7 Indigenous People in STEM You Should Know - Westcoast Women in Engineering, Science and Technology - Simon Fraser University. https://www.sfu.ca/wwest/WWEST_blog/7-indigenous-people-in-stem-you-should-know.html
Kim, I. (2024, November 29). How indigenous engineers are using AI to preserve their culture. NBCNews.com. https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/innovation/indigenous-engineers-are-using-ai-preserve-culture-rcna176012
The Robert Mehrabian College of Engineering - UC Santa Barbara. (n.d.). Native American Heritage Month. UCSB. https://engineering.ucsb.edu/native-american-heritage-month
University of Maryland . (2023, November 6). Celebrating native and indigenous voices in engineering. Celebrating Native and Indigenous Voices in Engineering | Fischell Institute for Biomedical Devices. https://fischellinstitute.umd.edu/news/story/celebrating-native-and-indigenous-voices-in-engineering
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