NASA will be celebrating Native American Heritage Month in November. This month, NASA will highlight the contributions of its native scientists, engineers, and other researchers.
Mary G. Ross, an Indian trailblazer in NASA, was a mathematician, engineer, and member the Cherokee Nation. Her cutting-edge work includes work on NASA's Planetary Flight Handbook. John Bennet Herrington, a Chickasaw Nation astronaut, was the first Native American to fly to space.
The agency's Native American employees today are reaching for stars and expanding our understanding about the universe around us via groundbreaking science and innovation.
Related: NASA and Navajo Nation Partners in Understanding the Universe
NASA celebrates Native American Heritage Month! Discover the rich ancestry and diverse cultures of our team members, as well as the traditions that have helped us reach the stars. Visit NASA's Native American Heritage Month gallery HERE --> https://t.co/UW8SScv4tU pic.twitter.com/uRgiDchlgjNovember 2, 2021 See more
NASA shared an earlier page this November that included many stories from current NASA employees about their Native American heritage and their lives. It was 31 years ago since the first Native American Heritage Month began in 1990.
"Native American culture, and NASA, have both shaped my life." From a young age, my dream was to work in NASA. This motivated me to learn as much science and nature as possible and gave me the curiosity and drive to extend that drive beyond our planet," Kenneth Attocknie of the Caddo Tribes, who was a flight controller and astronaut instructor at NASA, and now works on the International Space Station’s human life support system.
This desire was fulfilled by my family's support. I gained a greater appreciation for the world around and that helped me discover the planet. Attocknie said that everything is spiritually connected, and that he has learned this even more while working for NASA.
Carol "Bird Song", a Cheroenhaka Indian Tribe member, has served multiple roles at NASA. She graduated from the NASA Apprentice Program, worked as a wind tunnel technician, and is now a quality assurance specialist. Her support is essential to NASA's efforts to send humans back to the moon under the Artemis program.
The agency also highlighted Steve Lighthill's work as visual communications manager and public outreach coordinator at Armstrong Flight Research Center in California. He is an enrolled descendant of the Karuk tribe.
"I am proud to be a part of my heritage, and have brought as much as I can into my workplace. Lighthill stated that my Native American heritage has helped me make informed career and life choices.
We are proud to present Orson John, a member from the Navajo Nation, and one of our #NASApeople@NASAGoddard, in honor of Native American Heritage Month. Find out how he supports the mission of #NASA to discover new frontiers! #NAHeritage #NAHeritageDay pic.twitter.com/r5i1tYyePmNovember 29, 2019 See more
Aaron Yazzie is a Navajo nation member and engineer for NASA's Mars 2020 mission. He spoke to Space.com in February about his work with the mission's Perseverance rover.
Yazzie stated that it felt unreal and it was unreal to be part in such a historic mission at the time. It feels like we are contributing knowledge to the entire world for humanity. It is possible that we may find ancient microbial life in Mars. I am so happy that I have even a small part of that discovery.
NASA highlighted just a handful of employees this month, including Lighthill, Harrison and Attocknie. Marcellus Proctor and Orson John are also represented by Lauren Denson, Joseph Connolly (with Raquel Redhouse), Joseph Connolly, Lauren Denson, Joseph Connolly and Raquel Rehm.
Learn more on NASA's Native American Heritage Month webpage here.
NASA's relationship to Native American communities
NASA is developing a relationship with Native American communities, in addition to its growing workforce.
The agency launched its Perseverance rover onto Mars in February 2021. The Perseverance mission team is continuing to work with the Navajo Nation Office for the President and Vice President in order to name different Martian landmarks by using Navajo words
NASA released a statement saying that "The partnership that NASA has established with the Nez-Lizer Administration will help to revive our Navajo languages." "We hope that the Perseverance mission will use our language to inspire more young Navajo people about the importance of learning our language. Our words helped win World War II. Now we help to navigate the planet Mars and learn more about it.
NASA released a statement saying that "The partnership that NASA has created with the Nez-Lizer Administration will help to revive our Navajo tongue." Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez stated in a NASA statement. "We hope that the Perseverance mission will use our language to inspire more young Navajo people about the importance of learning our language. Our words helped win World War II. Now we help to navigate the planet Mars and learn more about it.
NASA also named 2014 MU69 the celestial body, discovered by NASA's New Horizons mission, "Arrokoth," a term that means "sky", in the Algonquian language. This word is spoken in Maryland by the Powhatan tribes. After controversy over the name "Ultima Thule", this name was chosen.
