The American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES) has been convening its annual conference since 1978. This year’s will be held November 19-21 in Phoenix, Arizona. The one-of-a-kind, three-day event brings together high school juniors and seniors, college and graduate students, teachers, professionals and corporate partners. Olympic gold medalist Billy Mills will serve as keynote speaker this year. Other conference highlights will include a live art performance and auction by renowned artist Bunky Echo-Hawk; an American Indian Career & Education Expo; tours of Boeing and Intel facilities; college tours; a golf tournament; and the closing powwow and American Indian products marketplace.
AISES was founded in 1977 to substantially increase the representation of American Indians and Alaskan Natives in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) studies and careers. “It is a tremendous honor [to be CEO of AISES],” said Sarah EchoHawk, Pawnee. “I’m not the first woman to do this job. I have big shoes to fill, having [predecessors] such as Sandra Begay-Campbell and Pamala Silas, both who have been incredible mentors to me. I feel very humble, but also very proud that we’ve made strides. And that women are able to have these opportunities of running national Indian organizations. That wouldn’t have been the case 30 years ago.”
AISES is working to develop tomorrow’s leaders. The organization held its annual Leadership Summit at the Pueblo of Santa Ana in March. The summit provides professional development workshops, and a formal mentor matching and training program, as well as networking opportunities with early to mid-career level Native students in STEM.
Crystal Tulley-Cordova, Diné, and Sheridan Evans, Cherokee, have taken full advantage of the opportunity to lead through AISES. Tulley-Cordova is pursuing a Ph.D. in geology at the University of Utah, and Evans is pre-med at the University of Oklahoma, but she is pursuing degrees in biology and Native American Studies. Both young women have been long-time AISES members, and are shining examples of leadership, holding the positions of Senior National Representative and Vice-National Representative, respectively. “AISES is a unique organization that identifies you, not only as a Native person, but also identifies your goals.” Tulley-Cordova said. “AISES has helped me financially through scholarships. It’s helped me to become a better leader and [public speaker] as I present my research. It’s helped me culturally, as well as academically.”
Photo by Jason Morgan Edwards
Crystal Tulley-Cordova, Diné, and Sheridan Evans, Cherokee, Senior National Representative and Vice-National Representative, respectively. They were addressing the participants at the 2015 AISES Leadership Summit at Tamaya Resort in Santa Ana Pueblo in March.
“I also have an AISES scholarship. AISES has really helped me to hone my leadership skills, and culturally.” Evans said. “I didn’t grow up traditional. So, coming here and having the Elders [has taught] me things about myself and the people that I come from.”
The significance of women in the Native traditions is not lost on these young leaders. “AISES definitely relates to cultural values. Talking about the Navajo values, they have a lot of respect for the mother.” Tulley-Cordova said. “I think AISES has definitely adopted that. [EchoHawk] is someone who is our mother, and is trying to help us succeed. Seeing her and the Elders, like Dr. Henrietta Mann, Faith Spotted-Eagle, Cecilia Lucero… seeing them in the their roles, being nurtured—these are different attributes that Native women have in [our] communities.”
Photo by Jason Morgan Edwards
Elders are an important part of mentoring through AISES. Pictured here are: Stan Lucero Laguna and Acoma), Cecelia Lucero Laguna and Acoma), Dr. Henrietta Mann Southern Cheyenne), Dr. Jim May Keetoowah Cherokee), Faith Spotted Eagle Ihanktonwan Band of the Dakota/Nakota/Lakota Nation of South Dakota), Tiger Lane, and Phil Lane, Jr. Yankton Dakota and Chickasaw).
“The Cherokee society is also matrilineal—the women make the majority of the decisions in the tribe,” Evans said. “Being here, there are so many role models that not only incorporate their culture, but they also [exhibit] what it means to be a strong woman. It’s beneficial to me to have strong female role models.”
Women, and other minority populations are gaining ground in STEM, but the growth is slow, according to EchoHawk. “Women are still lagging behind in STEM, overall. I’m confident that we’ll see [improvement], but it’s not as fast as it should be. But, it’s not just women, per se. In the last 30 years, we haven’t seen the needle really move for people of color. We’re working to address that.”
She and her staff are focused on growing the membership and developing new methods of serving the Native community. “From a top-level view, I’m committed to increasing membership by [another] 20 percent. We increased it by 25 percent in 2014. The membership has grown to about 3,500, up from 2,700 just two years ago,” EchoHawk said. “But, the number of Natives pursuing STEM degrees is still low. We’re trying to get our chapters better connected. We can continue to [sponsor] these types of events—leadership and national conferences, scholarships and internships. We’ve seen an increase in our ability to offer [these opportunities]” from year to year. She is dedicated to improving the organizational infrastructure so the students who may not be able to attend the conferences can still reap the benefits of membership.
Conference registration and other details about the organization can be found at AISES.org.
