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Time to update my thread about the "Indigenous people can’t use modern tech if we protest the religious & cultural bigotry of those who misuse the sacred objects of our cultureS" lie that hinges on the bigoted myth that Indigenous Americans played no part in tech development...
Not only was the 1st female engineer at Lockheed & NASA a citizen of The Cherokee Nation but she was a pioneer & founding member of the renowned Skunk Works project at Lockheed, the top-secret team that planned the early years of space exploration https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/mary-ross-a-hidden-figure/
& not just any Rocket Scientist but 1 of the 1st in human history & 1 of several Natives included in the US Mint’s coin celebrating the Natives of NASA- “American Indians have been on the modern frontier of spaceflight since the beginning of NASA” http://www.collectspace.com/news/news-062117a-us-mint-2019-american-indians-space-dollar.html
Like Jerry Chris Elliott High Eagle, one of the first Native Americans who worked at NASA
He's best known as the lead retrofire officer during Apollo 13, where his actions saved the lives of the 3 astronauts & earned him the Presidential Medal of Freedom.. https://transportationhistory.org/2018/11/07/national-native-american-heritage-month-jerry-c-elliott-aerospace-engineer/
He's best known as the lead retrofire officer during Apollo 13, where his actions saved the lives of the 3 astronauts & earned him the Presidential Medal of Freedom.. https://transportationhistory.org/2018/11/07/national-native-american-heritage-month-jerry-c-elliott-aerospace-engineer/
...but, though less famous, his pioneering work in telecommunications plays a bigger role in modern tech
than his leadership role in the moon landing or life saving feats of engineering that averted a deadly tragedy on the Apollo 13 mission
than his leadership role in the moon landing or life saving feats of engineering that averted a deadly tragedy on the Apollo 13 mission
Then there's Dr. Fred Begay/Young of the Los Alamos National Laboratory & part of a NASA-funded space physics research team on the origin of high energy gamma rays and solar neutrons in the 1960's & 70's whose research on lasers makes SO much tech possible https://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/nova/episode-2-season-6/the-long-walk-of-fred-young/191695/
Speaking of Navajos, if you've ever wondered why computer circuits resemble Navajo weaving patterns then you will not be surprised to learn that this is not a coincidence but is in fact by intentional Navajo design. As one scholar put it upon discovering the connection...
...“ I had no idea that indigenous people in the U.S. had played such an important role in the early history of computing devices...It flew in the face of all my knowledge about Silicon Valley and racial minorities.” https://computerhistory.org/blog/indigenous-circuits/?key=indigenous-circuits
& that's literally just the beginning, a thread long enough to list the contributions to modern tech by Indigenous Americans would break the internet (but it's definitely worth exploring) https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/g29460020/indigenous-scientists/?slide=5
From the satellites that carry content to your screens from around the world to the code and components that make it possible, Indigenous innovation has played a major roll. It’s our technology as much as it is anyone else’s so we’ll keep using it... https://www.nps.gov/people/mary-g-ross.htm
...while NOT disrespecting the sacred objects of your cultures and religions- the least you can do is show the same level of integrity and social skills.
Read the full article here before I update it & it moves to http://ntvtwt.com https://medium.com/@projectmoe4u/protectors-clearing-house-tech-edition-dad052b74876
Read the full article here before I update it & it moves to http://ntvtwt.com https://medium.com/@projectmoe4u/protectors-clearing-house-tech-edition-dad052b74876
