Engineering Collection

Indigenous Scientists and Engineers

Today is Indigenous People's Day 2021, celebrated in 13 states this year. In order to celebrate this day, we are going to discuss several indigenous engineers and their contributions. This list is complied from a Popular Mechanics article located here (https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/g29460020/indigenous-scientists/?slide=1). I have added links to outside sources on these persons.

Mary Golda Ross (1908-2008) was a NASA mathematician and engineer who played a pivotal role in sending Apollo astronauts into space.

Occupation: Mathematician and Engineer
Native Affiliation: Cherokee Nation

Bertha Parker (1907-1978) was an archaeologist. She discovered a number of archaeological sites, including the Scorpion Hill Pueblo Site and the Corn Creek Campsite. She’s best known for discovering the skull of a ground sloth next to a manmade artifact in the famed Gypsum Cave, proving that man and beast coexisted.

Occupation: Archaeologist
Native Affiliation: Seneca Nation

John Harrington (1958- present) is the first Native American to go to and walk in space and was part of the 16th shuttle mission to the International Space Station in 2002. To commemorate his heritage, he carried six eagle feathers, a braid of sweet grass, two arrowheads, and the Chickasaw Nation’s flag, according to the American Indian Education Fund.

Occupation: NASA Astronaut
Native Affiliation: Chickasaw Nation

Susan La Fleshe Picotte (1865-1915) was the first Native American to earn a medical degree. She studied at the Women’s Medical College of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, and graduated first in her class in 1889. She soon returned to the Omaha Reservation, where she went on to treat thousands of people. She's credited with building the first private hospital on a Native American reservation.

Occupation: Physician
Native Affiliation: Omaha Nation

Aaron Yazzie (!986-present) is a mechanical engineer who works at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. He has developed mechanical systems that help analyze Mars' atmosphere and Martian soil samples. His technology is currently at work on the Mars Insight Lander, and he is working on the Mars 2020 mission, which will launch next July.

Occupation: NASA Mechanical Engineer
Native Affiliation: Diné (Navajo Nation)