- Details
- By Jenna Kunze
Visitors to the recently opened First Americans Museum in Oklahoma City will soon be greeted by a bronze statue of one of Indian Country's leading female rocket scientists: Mary Golda Ross of the Cherokee Nation.
Born in 1908, Golda Ross contributed to contemporary studies of orbiting satellites, crewed Earth-orbit flights, and created preliminary designs for flyby missions to Mars and Venus. She worked as one of 40 engineers dedicated to an American aerospace manufacturer’s top secret think tank at Lockheed Aircraft Corporation. After retiring, Golda Ross dedicated herself to encouraging Indigenous youth—particularly women—to pursue the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). She passed on at the age of 99 in 2008.
In 2019, Golda Ross was selected to appear on a special edition of a $1 U.S. coin. Now, the First American Museum is following suit with the slated installation of her statue on Feb. 22, a spokesperson from the museum told Native News Online.
Want more Native News? Get the free daily newsletter today.
“Mary Golda Ross is an inspiration to all young women and to the First Americans community for her contributions to the aerospace industry as the first woman engineer of Lockheed,” James Pepper Henry (Kaw Nation), director of the First Americans Museum said in a statement to Native News Online. “As a member of the Cherokee Nation, one of the 39 tribal nations in Oklahoma, we honor her for her many accomplishments.”
As part of its campaign to uplift womens’ contributions to the field of STEM, the international cosmetic brand Olay is donating $1 million to memorializing, celebrating, and fostering women in STEM. Part of that funding has paid for the Golda Ross statue. Olay also partnered with the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum to ensure the statue, along with its plaque, is historically accurate.
According to one research center, women make up just 28% of the workforce in science, technology, engineering, and math.
Olay’s announcement was timed to draw attention to the United Nations International Day of Women and Girls in STEM later this week. The United Nations General Assembly declared February 11 International Day of Women and Girls in Science in 2015 as a way to encourage women and girls’ full and equal access to and participation in science.
More Stories Like This
Biden Nominates Salish & Kootenai Tribal Attorney Danna Jackson for Federal BenchA Conversation With Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan: What We Can Celebrate Around the State
Return to the Heart Foundation Gives 44 Micro-Grants to Native Women Leaders
Indigenous Journalists Association President Addresses Members of the UNPFII
Inter-Tribal Council Passes Resolution Urging FCC to Establish Specific Event Code for Missing and Endangered Persons
Native Perspective. Native Voices. Native News.
We launched Native News Online because the mainstream media often overlooks news that is important is Native people. We believe that everyone in Indian Country deserves equal access to news and commentary pertaining to them, their relatives and their communities. That's why the story you’ve just finished was free — and we want to keep it that way, for all readers. We hope you'll consider making a donation to support our efforts so that we can continue publishing more stories that make a difference to Native people, whether they live on or off the reservation. Your donation will help us keep producing quality journalism and elevating Indigenous voices. Any contribution of any amount — big or small — gives us a better, stronger future and allows us to remain a force for change. Donate to Native News Online today and support independent Indigenous-centered journalism. Thank you.
