Danielle Forward
Founder, Natives Rising
Role: Founder, Natives Rising & Product Designer at Facebook
Location: San Francisco, CA
Pronouns: she/her
Race/Ethnicity: Native American (Pomo Nation, Northern California)
Education: B.F.A. Interaction Design, California College of the Arts; AA Global Studies, AA Social & Behavioral Science, Santa Rosa Junior College
Fun Fact: She loves Japanese anime and RPG video games, like the Final Fantasy series.
About Danielle's Work: The Natives Rising mission is to economically empower the Indigenous community through tech careers. We highlight indigenous professionals in tech, and provide mentorship, community, and networking opportunities for Indigenous students to connect with Indigenous tech professionals.
Watch & Discuss
The First Peoples' Project was an initiative of iEARN, the International Education and Resource Network. The project used new technologies to enable students from native populations in schools on five continents to share the wisdom of their respective cultures.
How can highlighting positive Native American role models in the world of technology improve visibility and economic opportunities?
Research and identify Native American contributions to STEM fields by reviewing the websites listed here.
Extension Activities
The myth that Native Americans are "mostly extinct" often results in their voices being left out of policy change, infrastructure upgrade, and recruiting & diversity initiatives from businesses—even though there are over 5.4 million Native Americans currently living in the United States.