November is American Indian
Heritage Month
Spotlight Scientists
Wallace Hampton Tucker (1939 - Present)
Wallace Hampton Tucker is a Choctaw astrophysicist who specializes in high-energy astrophysics. He received his PhD in physics from the University of California, San Diego in 1966 and has since studied black holes, cosmic X-rays, and galaxy physics. He is also an active environmentalist and has founded 2 nonprofit organizations to preserve land and allow wildlife to thrive: the Fallbrook Land Conservancy (FLC) and the San Diego Land Conservation Coalition. Tucker is also a playwright and has written theatrical plays about cultural divisions and conflicts between white and Native American races.
Jerry C. Elliott High Eagle (1943 - Present)
Jerry C. Elliott High Eagle was among one of the first Native Americans to work at NASA, where he served as a Flight Mission Operations Engineer. He is from the Osage-Cherokee tribe and dreamed of landing a man on the moon ever since he was little. He faced discrimination as a Native American throughout his career, but he nevertheless pursued his dreams of becoming a scientist. He served as Retrofire Officer during the Apollo 13 mission and was awarded a Presidential Medal of Freedom for his efforts during that mission. He was also awarded the title of “High Eagle” by native elders when he turned 41. He currently serves as Senior Technical Manager in the Management Integration Office of the Space Station Program Office at NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.
The men and women in our spotlight changed the course of science over and over. However, there are uncountable more that accelerated our progress further.
To learn more about these incredible people, follow the links below:
Aaron Yazzie: Personal Website,
Fred Begay: Physics Central
Mary Golda Ross: American Indian Magazine