Ian Her Many Horses (Lakota) Making CS Education for Natives by Natives

Ian Her Many Horses

What nation/clan/tribal town/etc. are you from?

Lakota

How did you get into development?

I've always liked writing code and was able to get some early experience in middle school with building a website.

What is it like being a Native in tech?

Outside of the NiT space, I feel isolated, so it's great to see what other Natives are doing and creating.

What are your future plans?

I hope to continue my work in the education realm to make CS more accessible to Native kids. There are so many problems and challenges that are distinct to our own communities that we can solve, and I want to be part of giving people the skills to address those problems/challenges.

What has been your greatest accomplishment?

I have been working with a group in my homelands to raise awareness and bring CS to those communities. It has been challenging to get something going, and so I'm very happy to have found a group of people that share my interests and what to accomplish the same goals.

What projects are you working on now?

I currently am a developer for the Learning Assistant Alliance. I am also working with two projects that seek to improve the accessibility of CS for Native communities in South Dakota.

How do you give back to your community?

I do my best to educate and bring awareness of the power of computer science for my home community.

In what ways can Natives in tech do more for their community?

I think the most important thing the NiT can do is bring awareness to the power of tech. It is so important to let tech solve our technical problems so that we can focus on our human-centric problems. Tech can only do so much, so it becomes a question of using the tools available to us efficiently.

What would you like to see happen for tribal Nations throughout the US?

I would like tribal nations to lead. We have a lot of power and can set an example for the rest of the country for how to go about managing our respective spaces. Essentially, it would be great for us to transition from a position of survival to one of setting an example that can be followed.

I have a sincere belief that tech should enhance the experience of life, and not replace it. It is important that we choose to use tech in ways that make lives better and allows us to be better within our own communities.