Newsletter December 2021: Before the End of the Year Show your support For our mission of supporting and training Native American girls in STEM!
Before the End of the Year Show your support For our mission of supporting and training Native American girls in STEM!
Help us to continue to make a difference!
As you consider your year-end gifts, please consider a generous tax-deductible donation to the Caroline and Ora Smith Foundation, a 501c3 organization.
To help us further our mission of increasing the number of Native American women in the STEM fields, we hope you consider a tax-deductible donation today.
You can donate online or mail here.
Stay tuned for our next year’s programming.
And, scroll down for other news and a summary of our programming in 2021 and for replays where available.
Wishing everyone a healthy and happy New Year
Mary Smith
CEO and Chair, Caroline and Ora Smith Foundation
Happy Birthday to Our Namesake!
Our namesake, Caroline Smith, celebrated her 97th birthday on December 18. Happy birthday, Caroline!
STEM Caucus
In November, Senators Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) launched a bipartisan caucus focused on creating more access and pathways for women and girls to participate in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) careers. The caucus will offer a platform for lawmakers and industry leaders to discuss solutions to address the lack of diversity in STEM.
According to the U.S. Census as of 2019, women made up half of the workforce but only accounted for 27 percent of workers in STEM fields. The divide remains even more apparent in computer and engineering occupations, which made up 80 percent of the STEM workforce. Women represented only about a quarter of computer workers and 15 percent of those in engineering occupations.
During the pandemic, we have seen the value of science in developing vaccines and therapeutics and the vital importance of doctors, nurses, and others employed in healthcare. We have also seen families facing rising inflation and higher costs and women leaving the workforce in greater numbers than men. In light of these developments, Kathryn Leonard, president of the Association for Women in Mathematics remarked: “We've made great strides, but we definitely have a long way still to go. And particularly with the challenges that are facing the world at the moment, many of them require us to have the strongest possible STEM solutions that we can, and in order to get those we really need to strengthen the diversity in STEM fields. We need all voices and sources of creativity to expand the economy and spur innovation. And frankly, to make sure that we continue to be the leader that we have been in science and technology.”
Media Appearances
During the past year, Board Chair Mary Smith was interviewed on the negative impact of Native American sports mascots on Native Americans, particularly on Native youth. Watch the interviews on CBS2 Chicago and FOX32 Chicago.
Mary was also part of a panel discussion on the racism against Native Americans as part of NBC5 Chicago’s Path Forward series. Watch HERE.
Finally, in honor of Native American Heritage Month in November, Mary was interviewed by the National Women’s History Museum (NWHM) Empower Series. Mary serves on the board of NWHM. Read the interview HERE.
Summary of 2021 Programming
Indigenuity Series. We kicked off the year by partnering with the Museum of Native American History (MONAH) to co-sponsor two programs in the Indigenuity series with Indigenuity: Air on February 18, 2021. This program on Indigenuity examined how Indigenous design and systems thinking can help us address the problems of air quality and global climate change. On March 18, 2021, the Caroline and Ora Smith Foundation (the “Foundation”) co-sponsored Indigenuity: Water where Dr. Wildcat explored approaching the host of issues we face regarding water use, conservation and quality from the perspective of how we might learn to think like a river, ocean current or spring: in short, learn to go with the flow. Watch Indigenuity: Air HERE and Indigenuity: Water HERE.
Screening of Film Mankiller. On April 18, 2021, we co-sponsored with the Mitchell Museum of the American Indian and MONAH, a screening of the film Mankiller about the life and resilience of Wilma Mankiller, the first woman to serve as Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation. After the screening, there was a panel discussion with the filmmaker Valerie Redhorse Mohl.
STEM Panel. On October 7, 2021, the Foundation co-sponsored with the Museum of Native American History (MONAH) a STEM panel with two incredible indigenous women, Sarah Echohawk, CEO of the American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES), and Robin Maxkii, an award-winning creative and indigenous rights activist. This panel was part of MONAH’s 5th Annual Native American Cultural Celebration (NACC): Indigenuity: Building a Bridge to the Future Conference. Watch the STEM Panel HERE.
Indigenous People’s Day. On Monday, October 11, 2021, which was Indigenous Peoples’ Day, we co-sponsored two special programs on indigenous boarding schools, one program for youth and one program for adults. United States Secretary of the Interior Debra Anne Haaland – the first Native American cabinet secretary, was our special guest. In June, Secretary Haaland introduced the Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative, a program which aims to investigate the destructive assimilationist legacy of Indian Boarding Schools within the United States. Recordings are available HERE.
Veteran’s Day. And, finally, we ended the year with our special Veteran’s Day programming, co-sponsored with the American Bar Association Section of Civil Rights and Social Justice, where the Foundation held a conversation with Lou Moore, a 99-year-old WWII veteran who wrote a book Eternal Love about his life and his love affair with his beloved late wife, Nellie. Watch the program HERE.
Please Support the Caroline and Ora Smith Foundation
In order to meet our goal of increasing the number of Native American women and girls in the STEM fields, we need your support!