On March 12, 2021, United States Space Force (USSF) Captain Haida StarEagle achieved a notable milestone when she became that uniformed service’s first female Native American intelligence officer. Along with the U.S. Air Force (USAF) USSF is currently part of the U.S. Department of the Air Force. USSF was established in 2019. Its actual origins, however, can be traced back to the military space programs undertaken by the Army, Navy, and USAF in the early years of the Cold War.
The 2021 ceremony for StarEagle’s induction into USSF took place at Joint Base Langley-Eustis in Virginia. “Captain StarEagle has the impressive combination of capability, superior intellect, drive and passion for serving,” asserted Lieutenant Colonel Michael Hollingsworth of the U.S. Special Operations Command, in a public statement released at the time. “The Space Force is gaining an absolutely phenomenal leader.”
StarEagle’s father Chief Samuel Little Fox, the shaman of the Matinecock Tribe (an Algonquian people) and all 13 of the tribes based on Long Island, led the invocation during her induction ceremony. The accompanying photo taken at this event shows StarEagle standing between Lieutenant Colonel Hollingsworth and Chief Samuel Little Fox.
StarEagle, who is originally from Brooklyn and has long aspired to become an astronaut, joined USAF in 2004 and served in this miliary branch until transferring to USSF. She sees her leadership and assignments on behalf of USSF as an opportunity to positively represent her fellow members of the Matinecock Tribe. “My father told me when I was younger that I must find my own way and figure out how to leave a legacy for our tribe,” StarEagle underscored in a press release. “Joining the Space Force and continuing to serve is the best way to leave my mark within my tribe, create a legacy for my people, and make my father proud.”
In discussing her career, StarEagle has also addressed what appears to have been a harbinger for her very early on in life. “When I was born, during my naming ceremony, the shaman came back from his vision quest and told my father that I was destined for the stars,” she recounted. “My entire life has been focused toward the stars, and joining the Space Force puts me one step closer to following that dream.”
Photo Credit: Public Domain
For more information on Haida StarEagle, please check out https://nativenewsonline.net/currents/space-force-swears-in-first-indigenous-female-intelligence-officer
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