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I knew about African American inventors and scientists like Jan Ernst Matzeliger, Percy Julian, James West, and Marian Croak, but until very recently, I could not have named any comparable American Indians. It turns out that there are American Indian inventors like Tara Astigarraga and Thomas David Petite.
Thursday evening, I listened to a talk by Sarah EchoHawk, whom Ms. Astigarraga introduced. Ms. EchoHawk is the CEO of the American Indian Science and Engineering Society, and, she said, not an STEM person herself; her brother is the engineer. She is a member of the Pawnee Nation, and had some things to say about the status of federally recognized tribes, the challenges which Indigenous people face in obtaining education at all, especially education in science and engineering, and about AISES, which has now grown to 6095 members. She presented advice about dealing with American Indians, who are likely to be wary about outsiders with ideas about how to fix their problems, and about accommodating Indigenous employees.
She said that used the term “Indigenous” to include Native Hawaiians, and, I suppose, Inuit, as well as American Indians.
At the end, she showed a brief video of an AISES meeting.
It is encouraging to see that there are American Indians, including Alaskan Natives, who are educated in science and engineering, and trying to use their knowledge to help their peoples, and address various problems.
Thursday evening, I listened to a talk by Sarah EchoHawk, whom Ms. Astigarraga introduced. Ms. EchoHawk is the CEO of the American Indian Science and Engineering Society, and, she said, not an STEM person herself; her brother is the engineer. She is a member of the Pawnee Nation, and had some things to say about the status of federally recognized tribes, the challenges which Indigenous people face in obtaining education at all, especially education in science and engineering, and about AISES, which has now grown to 6095 members. She presented advice about dealing with American Indians, who are likely to be wary about outsiders with ideas about how to fix their problems, and about accommodating Indigenous employees.
She said that used the term “Indigenous” to include Native Hawaiians, and, I suppose, Inuit, as well as American Indians.
At the end, she showed a brief video of an AISES meeting.
It is encouraging to see that there are American Indians, including Alaskan Natives, who are educated in science and engineering, and trying to use their knowledge to help their peoples, and address various problems.
