Jerry C. Elliott

Jerry Chris Elliott High Eagle (born 1943) is a physicist and was one of the first Native Americans who worked at NASA. He is most known for his contributions as the lead retrofire officer during Apollo 13, where his actions saved the lives of the three astronauts on board. Elliott's work awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor awarded by the President of the United States.[1][2][3]

This article is about the Native American physicist. For the Kansas judge, see Jerry Elliott.
Jerry Elliott
Born
Jerry Chris Elliott

1943
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States
NationalityOsage-Cherokee
CitizenshipAmerican
EducationUniversity of Oklahoma, Physics

Early life

High Eagle, from the age of five, had a vision of assisting astronauts to get to the moon. While supported by some members in his family and community, he was faced with opposition due to his race.[4]

After graduating from Northwest Classen High School, he was accepted into the University of Oklahoma at the age of 18. While in university, he faced a degree of culture shock, facing disrespect and misunderstandings towards him as a Native American.[5] He faced racial discrimination from his professors, and was unable to pursue graduate studies due to the death of his stepfather and an overall lack of funding. He received a degree in physics with a minor in mathematics, April, 1966, being the first indigenous native to obtain one from the University of Oklahoma, department of physics.[6][5]

Career at NASA

Starting his space career early in the Gemini Program, Elliott joined NASA in April 1966 as a flight mission operations engineer, serving at the Mission Control Center in Houston, Texas.[7] He was Program Staff Engineer at the NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC during the Apollo–Soyuz Program.[8][5] He served as a Senior Technical Manager in the Management Integration Office of the Space Station's Program Office.[8][9] Elliott and his team provided ground support equipment and space hardware for Skylab, the United States' first space station.[5]

While at NASA, Elliott pushed for furthering telecommunications infrastructure between reservations. Implemented the American Indian Telecommunications Satellite Demonstration Project linked the All-Indian Pueblo Council and the Crow Indian Reservation with the federal government at Washington, D.C. His testimony before Congress culminated in the establishment in the First Americans Commission for Telecommunications (FACT).[10][5]

During the Apollo program he held several important management and leadership positions including the lead Retrofire Officer on Apollo 13 mission,[11] he was the only indigenous native person on the control team.[12] He served on the mission control team during Apollo 11's successful moon landing. Elliott played an instrumental role in computing the trajectory and successful recovery back to Earth during the events of Apollo 13. His efforts during the events of the disaster awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Richard Nixon[7] for his role in saving the lives of the three endangered astronauts.[4][13][14][15][16]

Accomplishing his boyhood vision of landing men on the moon, Elliott continued work at NASA for a total of four decades,. Some of Elliott's personal papers during the Apollo era are held at the Oklahoma History Center.[17][6]

Personal life

Elliott is fluent in the English, and proficient in Russian, Spanish, and Osage languages.[8] His name "High Eagle" was given to him when he turned 41, by native elders. [5] Elliott cites his mother and Albert Einstein as his personal heroes. He enjoys playing the guitar and Indian flute.[18] His work in music has led to him performing in the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington, D.C.[7] He has also played roles on the film Houston, We've Got a Problem, where he played himself, along with an appearance on the television show Walker, Texas Ranger.[7][17]

In 1977, he was a founder/incorporator of the American Indian Science and Engineering Society, Inc., along with two other founders, George Thomas (Cherokee), and Alex Labadie (Osage). The society pursues further Native American involvement in the sciences.[19][20] He is the founder and CEO of High Eagle Technologies, Inc, a native company dedicated to cancer research and treatment with patented technology he was awarded in 2019.[21]

Mr. Elliott authored the Congressional legislation for Native American Awareness Week, 1976, for the first historic week of observance for the American Indian in the history of the United States. The legislation was passed by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Gerald R. Ford.

Awards and recognition
  • Cherokee Medal of Honor[7]
  • Navajo Medal of Honor[22]
  • Presidential Medal of Freedom
  • Medal of Honor Award, highest national honor bestowed by The National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution, for high ethical conduct and contributions to humanity, 1991.
  • State of Tennessee Special Proclamation by Governor and Tennessee Legislature honoring meritorious achievements in science, music and contributions to humanity, February 7, 2007.
  • Ely Samuel Parker Award, highest honor bestowed by the American Indian Science & Engineering Society (AISES), Inc., for lifetime career achievements and community service.
  • Bausch and Lomb National Science Award.
  • Science and Engineering National Achievement Award, presented by the American Indian Art and Cultural Exchange, 1976.
  • National Chairperson, Native American Awareness Week, October 10-16, 1976. He authored congressional legislation signed by President Gerald R. Ford.
  • Bronze Halo Award by the Southern California Motion Picture Council for outstanding contributions to humanity, 1983.
  • Special Achievement Award by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Lewis Research Center (now Glenn Research Center), Cleveland, Ohio, for meritorious achievements, and exceptional contributions to research, planning, organization and conduct of responsibilities relating to space and technology programs. 1978.
  • Group Achievement Award by NASA Langley Research Center, 1981.
  • National Science Spectrum Trailblazer Award, 2006, for significant, quantifiable, personal impact on industry and their communities in maintaining a powerful position of influence regarding public policy.
  • Sequoyah Fellow Honor, American Indian Science & Engineering Society, 2003
  • Teacher Award, presented by the American Indian Science & Engineering Society, Inc., 2004
  • Science Spectrum Trailblazers Award, presented by Science Spectrum Magazine, 2006
  • Oklahoma 2011 Indian Elder Distinguished Honoree, bestowed by the American Assoc. of Retired, for outstanding achievements/contributions to his tribe, community and state, 2011
  • Poet Laurette, Nominated for distinction of State of Oklahoma, Poet Laurette, 2017
  • NWC Hall of Fame, inducted November 1, 2019, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 2019
  • Nominated for the Technical Excellence Award, American Indian Science & Engineering Society, Inc., 2020.

References
  1. Viola, Herman. "Mary Golda Ross: She Reached for the Stars". NMAI Magazine. American Indian Magazine. Archived from the original on 20 June 2020. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
  2. Division, Health and Medicine; Practice, Board on Population Health and Public Health; Disparities, Roundtable on the Promotion of Health Equity and the Elimination of Health (2016). Advancing Health Equity for Native American Youth: Workshop Summary. National Academies Press. ISBN 978-0-309-37616-7. Archived from the original on 18 April 2022. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
  3. Painter, Bryan (4 July 2010). "A happy ending was tough to come by for Apollo 13, says retired NASA employee and Oklahoma native". Oklahoman.com. The Oklahoman. Archived from the original on 26 July 2020. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
  4. "National Native American Heritage Month – Jerry C. Elliott, Aerospace Engineer". Transportation History. AASHTO. 7 November 2018. Archived from the original on 26 July 2020. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
  5. Francisco, Edna (1 October 2004). "Science: A Spiritual Journey of Discovery". Science Magazine. AAAS. Archived from the original on 26 July 2020. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
  6. Reichhardt, Tony. "Mission Control on the eve of the first moon launch". Air & Space Magazine. Archived from the original on 26 July 2020. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
  7. Conley, Robert J. (2007). A Cherokee Encyclopedia. UNM Press. p. 93. ISBN 978-0-8263-3951-5. Archived from the original on 18 April 2022. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
  8. "Ancient Observatories Native American Connections Jerry C. Elliott". sunearthday.nasa.gov. NASA. Archived from the original on 26 February 2021. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
  9. "Jerry Elliot High Eagle – Native American Heritage Month 2015". Adafruit Industries - Makers, hackers, artists, designers and engineers!. Adafruit. 24 November 2015. Archived from the original on 26 July 2020. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
  10. Telecommunications technology and Native Americans : opportunities and challenges. Office of Technology Assessment, Congress of the U.S. 1995. p. 100. ISBN 9780160481949. Archived from the original on 18 April 2022. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
  11. International, Living on Earth / World Media Foundation / Public Radio. "Living on Earth: The Eagle Soars". Living on Earth. Archived from the original on 26 July 2020. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
  12. KickingWoman, Kolby. "Moon landing: 'Great amount of pride being the only Native person on the control team'". IndianCountryToday. Indian Country Today. Archived from the original on 25 July 2020. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
  13. "Jerry Chris High Eagle Elliott World Class Speakers & Entertainers". wcspeakers. World Class Speakers and Entertainers. Archived from the original on 26 July 2020. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
  14. ""Dream...Believe...Achieve" with J.C. High Eagle". Rapid City Journal Media Group. Rapid City Journal. Archived from the original on 26 July 2020. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
  15. "BHAS". ggladfelter.net. Black Hills Astronomical Society. Archived from the original on 23 February 2017. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
  16. ""Heroes of Apollo 13 Welcomed by President and Loved Ones" page 1". The Philadelphia Inquirer. 19 April 1970. p. 1. Archived from the original on 14 August 2020. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
  17. "Jerry Elliott". Discogs. Archived from the original on 18 February 2021. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
  18. Vernal, Lisa (1 January 2015). "Jerry Elliott High Eagle (Osage- Cherokee), Assistant Chief Technologist". Challenger Center. Archived from the original on 26 July 2020. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
  19. "Our History". AISES. 14 November 2018. Archived from the original on 8 July 2020. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
  20. "2018 Annual Report" (PDF). AISES. AMERICAN INDIAN SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING SOCIETY. Archived (PDF) from the original on 25 July 2020. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
  21. "Who We Are – High Eagle Technologies". High Eagle Technologies, Inc. Archived from the original on 25 July 2020. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
  22. Locke, Kimberly Durment. "Oklahoma native shares Apollo 13 experience". Cherokee Phoenix. Archived from the original on 26 July 2020. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
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