Growing up on the Navajo Nation, it’s common to know someone without access to electricity. For me, this includes my great-grandmother, who lives in Black Mesa, Arizona. I grew up in Window Rock, the capital of the Navajo Nation. So as a child, I would often wonder why we had electricity and she didn’t. These types of questions led me to experiment with small circuits and electronics. From then on, I’ve had an interest in electronics and learning how things work — and finding their application to real-world problems. 

In Oak Springs, Ariz., in the Carrizo Mountains, there’s a spectacular view in every direction. Onri Jay Benally, Navajo, calls Oak Springs home.

My hometown of Farmington, N.M., is a small community with diverse cultures and families.

As a kid growing up on the Navajo Reservation in Shiprock, N.M., Nedlaya Francisco was animated by a single question: How do things work? “We would have broken remote control vehicles or tape players, and my cousins, sisters, and I would take them apart to see their insides and their circuits,” she remembers. “I always wanted to know how things worked but didn’t know what the circuit boards were.”

Indigenous traditional knowledge of the lands, waters, sky, and long been dismissed by Western science as anecdote , mythology, or even superstition. But thanks to the efforts of Indigenous and non-Native scientists and educators, that perspective is changing.

It’s not much of an exaggeration to say that a single question changed the direction of Joshua John’s life. He was studying for his undergradu­ate physics degree at Northern Arizona University when he took a quantum mechanics class. “I asked the professor how this would be used and what the applica­tions were,” recalls John, who graduated in 2005. “My professor said those are questions an engineer asks, not a physicist. He encour­aged me to go into engineer­ing after graduating.”

A map can speak many languages, reach many audiences — and significantly support the stewardship of natural resources. Where geospatial data is needed, geographic information systems (GIS) are an important tool for building maps that locate information related to flora and fauna, cultural preservation, and recreation, among other applications. 

Growing up in Rough Rock, Ariz., Nizhoni Tallas, Navajo, spent a great deal of time exploring the outdoors. It was there, in her rural community, where she first became interested in the field of environmental science. “My brothers and I would hike the mesa and the canyon right in our backyard,” says Tallas. “I fell in love with the diversity of plants, rocks, and the smell of fresh air. From that point on, I knew I wanted to learn more about the environment and how I can protect it now and for future generations.”