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Collage of portraits of Native American figures alongside objects including a space shuttle and an owl
Illustrated by Sean McCabe; National Anthropological Archives/Smithsonian Institution (Picotte); Tim Vernon/Science Source (Medical Bag); Anton Starikov/Alamy Stock Photo (Stethoscope); SPL/Science Source (Phonedoscope); Autry Museum; P.22708 (Parker); NASA-KSC (Herrington); NASA via Wikimedia (Shuttle); used by permission of the Museum of the American Indian (Flute); Courtesy of Manuelito Wheeler (Wheeler); FlixPix/Alamy Stock Photo (Finding Nemo); Courtesy of the American Indian Science & Engineering Society (Hoagland); NASA (Flag); © Jim Zipp/SCIENCE SOURCE (Owl); © Sithiporn Thanapaisankit | Dreamstime.com (Trowel); Shutterstock.com (All Other Images)
Engineering,

Native American Trailblazers in STEM

November is Native American Heritage Month. Let’s celebrate some Indigenous scientists and engineers!

By Andrew Klein, Illustrated by Sean McCabe
From the October/November 2026 Issue

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November is Native American Heritage Month. Let’s celebrate some Indigenous scientists and engineers from the past and present!

Illustrated by Sean McCabe; National Anthropological Archives/Smithsonian Institution (Picotte); Tim Vernon/Science Source (Medical Bag); Anton Starikov/Alamy Stock Photo (Stethoscope); SPL/Science Source (Phonedoscope); Shutterstock.com (All Other Images)

1889
Dr. Susan La Flesche Picotte (Omaha Nation) becomes one of the first Native Americans to earn a medical degree. She returns to her tribe to serve as the only doctor on a reservation the size of Rhode Island. 

Illustrated by Sean McCabe; Autry Museum; P.22708 (Parker); © Sithiporn Thanapaisankit | Dreamstime.com (Trowel); Shutterstock.com (All Other Images)

1930
Bertha Parker (Abenaki/Seneca Nation) finds the earliest evidence of humans in North America. She later becomes one of the first female Native American archaeologists.

Illustrated by Sean McCabe; NASA-KSC (Herrington); NASA via Wikimedia (Shuttle); NASA (Flag); used by permission of the Museum of the American Indian (Flute); Shutterstock.com (All Other Images)

2002
John Herrington (Chickasaw Nation) becomes the first Native American astronaut to go to space. He brings some items to represent his heritage, including a flute and eagle feathers.

Illustrated by Sean McCabe; Courtesy of Manuelito Wheeler (Wheeler); FlixPix/Alamy Stock Photo (Finding Nemo); Shutterstock.com (All Other Images)

2016
Manuelito Wheeler (Diné) works with Disney to re-record the movie Finding Nemo in Diné—the language of the Navajo people—helping preserve the tribe’s culture and language. 

Illustrated by Sean McCabe; Courtesy of the American Indian Science & Engineering Society (Hoagland); © Jim Zipp/SCIENCE SOURCE (Owl); Shutterstock.com (All Other Images)

2017
Serra Hoagland (Laguna Pueblo) becomes the first Native American woman with a Ph.D. to work at the U.S. Forest Service, pairing science with tribal knowledge. 

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