Mission to Space

When John Herrington joined the crew of the shuttle Endeavour in 2002—more than four decades after the first manned space flight—he became the first enrolled member of a Native American tribe to fly in space. Herrington, an active and dedicated citizen of the Chickasaw Nation, was inducted into the Chickasaw Nation Hall of Fame in 2002, the National Native American Hall of Fame in 2018, and the Oklahoma Hall of Fame in 2019. Since his space flight, he has led efforts to broaden public awareness of the importance of space travel and has worked to increase interest and opportunities in math and science education among Native American children and youth. To that end, he earned a doctorate in education from the University of Idaho in 2014.