FORT HALL, Idaho (KIFI) – The first Native American to travel in space, John B. Herrington, brought students and guests into his orbit Wednesday at the Shoshone-Bannock Hotel and Event Center.
The astronaut, with Idaho connections, blasted off aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavor to visit the International Space Station in November 2022.
“I went to the space station. I did three spacewalks and helped assemble the first truss on the left side of the space station,” Herrington said.
During the 13 day and 18 hour mission, Herrington performed three space walks for about 20 hours.
“I’m a citizen of the Chickasaw Nation of Oklahoma. I was considered the first citizen of a recognized tribe to be a member of the Astronaut Corps and to fly in space,” he said.
Herrington graduated from Aviation Officer Candidate School in 1984 before joining the Astronaut Corps in April 1996.
“I used to sit in a cardboard box and dream I was going to the moon,” Herrington said. “But, you know, is that going to happen? I didn’t go to the moon. I was really envious of the people that just went to the moon. But I was very fortunate I got to do something I dreamed about as a kid.”
On Wednesday, Herrington shared his story and answered questions from Shoshone-Bannock students.
“It inspired me to know that like other natives can get that high up with their careers and do that much stuff, because I haven’t seen a lot of that,” said 13-year-old Chloe Thomas said.
“I probably will want to be an astronaut as well, to prove, like, anybody could really do anything – especially natives,” said 13-year-old Taetyn Taggart.
The face-to-face encounter with an astronaut may prove a launching pad for Shoshone-Bannock students with big dreams.
“Believe in yourself. If there’s something you want to do, talk to somebody doing it,” Herrington said. “If you have a desire to be an astronaut, a desire to be an attorney or an engineer. Go talk to somebody, and certainly talk to somebody that’s from where you’re from. Make identification with people that you admire, that you understand. Maybe it’s a path you can go down some point in time.”
