November is Native American Heritage Month, a time to celebrate the rich traditions, cultures, and contributions of Native American communities across the United States. In tech, Native Americans are making groundbreaking strides, breaking barriers, and inspiring future generations. Here we shine a spotlight on five trailblazers who are redefining success. Aaron Yazzie: Developing Tools for Mars Exploration As a mechanical engineer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Aaron Yazzie, a Diné (Navajo) Nation member, designs critical systems for space missions. His work on the Mars Perseverance Rover, particularly the drill bits
Native Americans are using technology to revitalize their communities’ threatened languages through online dictionaries. As part of a project by the Language Conservancy, Native American women are working with Rapid Word Collection (RWC) software to revive, remember, and record dozens of Apache language words related to everyday living. Disappearing Languages There are approximately 150 Native North American languages spoken in the United States today by more than 350,000 people. However, the majority of Native Americans today speak only English. This is due to a number of reasons, including the federal
A new report by the Kapor Foundation has highlighted the challenges faced by Native communities in computer science education and within the US tech ecosystem. The State of Tech Diversity: The Native Tech Ecosystem report was published in collaboration with AISES, a non-profit professional association dedicated to advancing Indigenous people in STEM. “The findings of this report underscore the pressing need to eliminate these disparities through continued awareness and advocacy, educational resources, and professional development tailored to our communities,” said Dr. Kathy DeerinWater, VP of Programs and Research at AISES, in
