Mastery in the areas of science and engineering prepares the country’s citizens to compete in a global economy and keep our nation prosperous and strong. Many Native American women played a great part in these areas. Otakuye Conroy-Ben made contributions in mathematics, chemistry, biology, and environmental engineering. Otakuye is revered by her people for bringing her work back to her community. In her early life, she also participated in some surprising ventures that will amuse and amaze you.
Otakuye Conroy-Ben, PhD (Oglala Sioux, b. 1977)
Otakuye Conroy-Ben was the oldest of the five children of Vina and Arlo Conroy. She is originally from Porcupine, South Dakota. Her Lakota name, Titakuye Ota Win which means Many Relatives Woman was given to her by her grandmother.
Her childhood community where she lived for the first five years of her life was the third poorest in the United States. Their small one-room house had electricity but no indoor plumbing. Roughly 80% of the people on the reservation were unemployed. Her parents decided to move to Rapid City where they found work at Indian Health Services.
Though they were poor, Vina and Arlo wanted their children to be educated. They both had taken college courses but not graduated. Knowing the value of higher education, they wanted their children to be educated so they could succeed. At the same time, they encouraged their children to be proud of their heritage and maintain close cultural ties with their community. This Otakuye desired as well.
Otakuye began Fancy Shawl dancing at the age of four. As a teen she enjoyed acting and appeared in several American Indian-themed movies. In Dances with Wolves, she played Kicking Bird’s daughter. In Miracle in the Wilderness, she played Mary. She also had a role as an extra in Thunderheart and Lakota Woman. She starred in television and radio commercials and represented the Lakota people as Miss Black Hills Nation and even modeled for a calendar, Runway Beauty Native America.
She has brains as well as beauty. She was known as a math whiz in high school where she graduated in 1994. She was given a scholarship to Notre Dame. So, she placed her acting and pageants on hold while working for her bachelor’s degree in chemistry. She was the first in her family to earn an undergraduate degree.
Otakuye went on to earn an MA in analytical chemistry, and an MS and PhD in environmental engineering from the University of Arizona. She was an outstanding student and received the University of Arizona’s Centennial Achievement Graduate Award. This award is given to students from an underrepresented community who have excelled academically and made contributions to the family and community. The award included a $500 cash prize. She also received an engraved plaque from the university’s Alumni Association.
She completed a post-doctoral appointment in chemistry and biochemistry at the U of A and then accepted a tenure-track faculty position in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. One of only a handful of Native Americans professors in engineering in the United States, Otakuye was registered as a professional engineer in the state of Utah. She is believed to be the first Native American female engineering professor.
Dr. Coroy-Ben worked on chemical and environmental engineering projects. One of her contributions to science was to determine how wastewater can be recycled and reused to address future water shortages. She discovered that many viruses remain in wastewater. During her career she challenged the government to make regulations that would result in the removal of these harmful viruses and save lives. She also visited the native communities to help them to understand how better hygienic practices would result in fewer illnesses and better health.
In 2009 Otakuye was elected secretary of the Board of Directors for the American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES). She is a founding member of the Indigenous Women in Science Network. Their vision statement reflects her belief in serving both the American culture and her Native culture. It honors the wisdom of the elders while integrating cultural values with science to achieve harmony and balance for all generations.
The balance of using the wisdom of the Native American elders along with modern medical science is enjoying a resurgence in our country. Many people are looking for alternative medicine rather than using the horrific drugs with their multiple side-effects. We have much to learn from indigenous medicine.
Dr. Conroy-Ben has been a keynote speaker at such venues as the American Institute of Chemical Engineers Annual Conference; Stanford university; South Dakota School of Mines and Technology; and the American Indian Science and Engineering Society.
She teaches courses at Arizona State University in the School of Sustainable Engineering and the Build Environment. She continues to make major contributions in her research of polluted water. Topics include environmental endocrine disruption, metal and antibiotic resistance in bacteria, and wastewater epidemiology. Working with the government was difficult, but Otakuye built relationships and eventually received grants to continue her research. One example of her work was with the study of how female estrogen is found in both groundwater and the soils affected by wastewater. The concentration of the estrogen was found to be harmful to humans. She worked to get environmental officials concerned enough to remove the harmful estrogen.
In 2022, Otakuye was given a distinguished award by SACNAS (Society for Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science). She was nominated by her peers for her dedication to science, mentoring, and teaching.
Otakuye has been featured in Winds of Change, and American Indian-published full color magazine that is nationally distributed with a focus on education and career advancement for indigenous peoples. Otakuye is married to Colin Ben. They are the proud parents of two daughters.
