Hunkpapa Lakota, Arikara, Standing Rock Lakota Sioux

Field: Analytical Chemistry 

"Indigenous science, to me, is just a better understanding of the world."

I’m an analytical chemist, which means I work with a lot of instruments and do a lot of analysis. When I was a lot younger, probably in middle school, I used to watch a lot of CSI shows, and I always thought it was so cool that they could solve crimes using science. 

It wasn’t until high school that I took my first chemistry course, and it was just basic general chemistry that everyone has to take, but I loved it. I think it partially had to do with my teacher, because he made everything have some real-life connection. And that kind of just sparked my interest, because chemistry is literally in everything we interact with every single day. But he really pushed me to pursue that into undergrad, and then in undergrad is again where I had mentors, and that’s how I ended up pursuing a PhD program.

I think Indigenous science to me is just a better understanding of the world. Being Indigenous in STEM has opened a lot of doors for me that I don’t think would have been open otherwise. Anytime I can learn more about the earth, that to me is Indigenous science. 

Find something you’re interested in, and if it happens to be science, awesome. Grasp it and see what you can learn with it.

Watch Sierra's role model video to learn more.