November is Native American Heritage Month and a time to honor some of the many Native Americans who have contributed to America, but have also been proactive in preserving their Native American history and culture. The following are a few examples of dedication, activism, or FIRST in their fields.

John Bennett Herrington was born 1958 in Oklahoma and a member of the Chickasaw Nation. He attended the University of Colorado where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in applied mathematics. His post graduate education includes attending the U.S. Navy Aviation Officer’s Cadet School in Pensacola, FL from which he received his commission in 1984, and the Naval Postgraduate School from which he received a Master’s of Science degree in aeronautical engineering.

In 1996 he was selected to be part of the astronaut program and served as a mission specialist for the sixteenth space shuttle mission to the International Space Station flown by Space Shuttle Endeavor.  It delivered a new Expedition 6 crew to the station, one of which was Herrington. During their 13 day stay, he performed 3 spacewalks. To honor his heritage on the spacewalks, he carried six eagle feathers, a braid of sweet grass, two arrowheads, and the Chickasaw Nation flag. He has the distinction of being the FIRST enrolled member of a Native American tribe to fly in space.

In 2004 he was chosen as commander of the NEEMO Aquarius Underwater Laboratory where he and his crew were underwater for 10 days. This was admittedly a very difficult assignment.

In 2005 he retired from the Navy and NASA. Since, recognizing the necessity for clean energy, he worked for a while in private industry where he contributed to the development of several STEM programs. He has also earned a PhD in education and has written a children’s book about space travel which includes a vocabulary list of English to the Chickasaw language. Currently he devotes his time to public speaking and educating the Chickasaw people.

Among his many honors are induction into the International Air and Space Hall of Fame, the Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation, the National Defense Service Medal, and 3 Sea Service Ribbons.

Deb Haaland was born 1960 in Arizona and is an enrolled member of the Laguna Pueblo but at some point she moved to New Mexico. There in 2015, she was elected as Democratic party leader of New Mexico, the FIRST Native American woman to hold the position of state party leader. In speaking about her ancestry, she reminds people, “The Laguna Pueblo people have lived on the land that is now New Mexico since the 1200s!” 

 In 2019, she, along with Sharice Davids of the Ho-Chunk Nation of Minnesota were sworn into the U.S. House of Representatives, and were the FIRST two Native American women to serve in the U.S. Congress. Haaland also became the FIRST Native American woman to preside over the U.S. House of Representatives. In 2020-2021,  she was nominated and confirmed U.S. Secretary of the Interior and is the FIRST Native American to hold that position.

Her philosophies resulted in her advocating for environmental justice and attention to climate change. She has banned the word, squaw from all federally owned property, a derogatory term used in referring to Native American women.

Within the Bureau of Indian Affairs, she has  intensified investigations regarding missing and murdered Native Americans, created the Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative to scrutinize long standing abuses in the now defunct boarding schools, and established Road to Healing to bring together survivors of the schools. In 2023 she announced that 25 million dollars was being dedicated to bison conservation. In her position as Secretary of the Interior, she includes Native American tribe members in decision-making when the topic affects them.

For awareness, she displays Native American artwork in her office and at times wears traditional Native American attire. Her advocacy and dedication to the long overdue recognition of Native American suffering has resulted in the topic being addressed more frequently and comprehensively.

She was replaced in 2025 when President Trump nominated and Congress approved Doug Burgum.

Tommy Orange, a citizen of the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma holds a bachelor’s degree in audio engineering and a master’s degree in fine arts from the Institute of American Indian Arts where he now teaches.

He is a highly acclaimed author for his short stories and novels that reflect Native American life today. His first novel, There There was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize in Fiction and earned him the American Book Award.

Dave Anderson is of Choctaw and Chippewa heritage. He competed in cooking contests from the time he was a child and won many pitmaster awards. Later in life, this led to his opening a restaurant named Famous Dave’s BBQ which became a successful chain. He also attended Harvard and earned a Master’s Degree in Public Administration without having a bachelor’s degree. In 2004-2005 he served as Secretary of the Interior for Indian Affairs under President George W. Bush. Since, he has founded a Life Skills Center which provides leadership experiences to at-risk and underprivileged Native American youth.

Although the aforementioned Native Americans succeeded, they are aware of the plight that still exists for many Native Americans and bring awareness and offer support to them. The book entitled Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann also brings awareness of the acts against Native Americans. In 2023 Martin Scorsese produced and directed a film based on the book by Grann with an outstanding cast including  Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, and Native American actors Tantoo Cardinal and Lily Gladstone. The film aptly portrays the history and suffering of many Native Americans.

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