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"My name is Frank C. Dukepoo. Among my Hopi people I go by Pu-mat-uh-ye-Aye Tsi Dukpuh. Through my father the family name Tsi Dukpuh refers to the snake sacks carried by the Snake Dancers. 'Pumatuhye" was given to me by my mother Ella when I was Initiated into manhood. After you plant the first little ones that come up-that is putmahye." Frank C. Dukepoo was born in 1944 on the Mojave Indian reservation in First Mesa, Arizona. He was an American Indian who worked tirelessly for Native American education. He was the first Hopi to earn a Ph.D. in zoology (genetic emphasis). When he died he was only one of six Native Americans with a doctorate in science. His working class parents were Eunice from the Laguna tribe and Anthony Dukepoo, a Hopi farmer. One of his role models was his older brother Freddie Dukepoo who worked in a laboratory. Frank said that helping his father in the fields watching things grow gave him an interest in becoming a scientist. Another one of his role models was his high school councilor , Abraham Lincoln Herm .  He went to a white elementary school in Arizona but they could not pronounce his name so he was called Frank C. Dukepoo. In high school , he worked hard to pass all his classes. He was a very good student and won scholarships to go to college. As a college freshmen in 1961, Frank noticed racism at Arizona State University . He had a hard time and because of his bad grades he lost all five of his scholarships. Luckily , one of his professor's , Charles Woolf , helped him raise his grades from D's and F's to all A's. He finally got to start his career .He became a scientist who studies ancestry. Frank Dukepoo became a geneticist . Genes determine the traits each person has. It is what makes you who you are-different from everyone else. Frank Dukepoo was really interested in albinism (people/animals) that have no color in their skins. They have white hair and pink eyes or eyes that are blue with red centers. Because there is no color these people get skin cancer more often then people who have color. This is not often seen among whites, but is seen more often in African Americans, Hispanics, and Native Americans. One out of every 227 Hopis are born with this while one in 10,000 are albino in the white population. He looked for a gene that caused albinism wanting a cure. Because he was a Hopi, the people trusted him more than they did other scientists. The Native Americans consider their bodies sacred. He stood up for the rights of his people being included in genetic studies. "To us ,any part of ourselves is sacred. Scientists say it's just DNA. For an Indian it is not just DNA. It is part of a person. It is sacred with deep religious significance. It is part of the essence of a person." Almost all Native Americans were mistrusted because of their skin color . Most thought Native American's would never be good at any job that the ever did . Frank taught at many different schools and universities but he never forgot where he came from. He started speaking to students about motivation. Starting a National Native American Honor Society he went on to help start the Society for the advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans and the American Indian Science and Engineering Society. He won many awards for his work Frank C. Dukepoo died at home in 1999 . He was fifty six years old. He will be known as a geneticists and a true leader for the Native American people. |