Until the end of November, the National Museum of Nuclear Science & History will display a banner exhibit highlighting the scientific contributions and achievements of Native Americans. The exhibit was debuted on Nov. 1 in honor of Native American Heritage Month.
Located directly across from the entrance, the exhibit displays a total of seven banners featuring Native American astronauts, physicists, mathematicians, doctors and politicians.
Bernadette Robin, a spokesperson for the museum, said Native American representation in the sciences is the most important thing the museum wants visitors to get out of the experience.
“When we have schools that have children that are from different areas in New Mexico, they can see an exhibit like this and say, ‘I didn’t know that a Native American was an astronaut,’” Robin said.
In 2021, people who identified as American Indian or Alaskan Native made up less than 1% of the STEM field, according to the National Science Foundation.
The immense-yet-unseen contributions from the people displayed in the exhibit aren’t always blatantly noticeable, Robin said.
Dr. Susan La Flesche Picotte, the first Native American to earn a medical degree, is highlighted in the exhibit. She advocated for public health, the prohibition of alcohol on reservations, better sanitation for food and schools, and tuberculosis prevention.
The late Fred Begay was another figure highlighted in the exhibit. A University of New Mexico alum, Begay was the first member of the Navajo Nation to receive a doctoral degree in physics, according to the museum. Begay went on to have an illustrious scientific career, working on NASA programs and researching nuclear fusion at Los Alamos National Laboratory.
One of the people featured, astronaut Nicole Aunapu Mann, is currently working on the Artemis program and could be the first woman to walk on the moon, according to Underscore Native News.
The National Museum of Nuclear Science & History is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.
John P. Hefti is a freelance reporter and photographer for the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at culture@dailylobo.com or on X @dailylobo
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