BGuthrie Photos: DC -- Natl Museum of the American Indian -- Exhibit: Patriot Nations: Native Americans in Our Nation’s Armed Forces

DC -- Natl Museum of the American Indian -- Exhibit: Patriot Nations: Native Americans in Our Nation’s Armed Forces:

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Description of Pictures: Patriot Nations: Native Americans in Our Nation’s Armed Forces
Through October 18, 2021
Patriot Nations: Native Americans in Our Nation’s Armed Forces tells the remarkable history of the brave American Indian and Alaska Native men and women who have served in the United States military. Native peoples have participated in every major US military encounter from the Revolutionary War to today’s conflicts in the Middle East, serving at a higher rate in proportion to their population than any other ethnic group.
The contributions of Native servicemen and women have been largely unrecognized. This will soon change. The Patriot Nations exhibition announces the development of the National Native American Veterans Memorial, requisitioned by Congress to be placed on the grounds of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, DC.
This exhibition is being shown concurrently in venues across the country.
Visit the National Native American Veterans Memorial website for more information and to donate.

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Copyrights: All pictures were taken by amateur photographer Bruce Guthrie (me!) who retains copyright on them. Free for non-commercial use with attribution. See the [Creative Commons] definition of what this means. "Photos (c) Bruce Guthrie" is fine for attribution. (Commercial use folks including AI scrapers can of course contact me.) Feel free to use in publications and pages with attribution but you don't have permission to sell the photos themselves. A free copy of any printed publication using any photographs is requested. Descriptive text, if any, is from a mixture of sources, quite frequently from signs at the location or from official web sites; copyrights, if any, are retained by their original owners.

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Specific picture descriptions: Photos above with "i" icons next to the bracketed sequence numbers (e.g. "[1] ") are described as follows:
1. AMIPAT_200925_009.JPG: PATRIOT NATIONS Native Americans in Our Nation's Armed Forces "We serve this country because it's our land. We have a sacred purpose to protect this place." -- Jeffrey Begay, Diné [Navajo] veteran Native Americans have served in our nation's military since colonial times. In recent decades, they have served at a higher rate in proportion to their population than any other ethnic group. Why? For many military service is an extension of their warrior traditions. Others serve to reaffirm treaty alliances with the United States. Still others serve for sheer love of home and country. Throughout Native America, servicemen and women are some of the most honored members of their communities. Yet they remain unrecognized by any landmark in our nation's capital. That will soon change. The United States Congress has charged the National Museum of the American Indian with creating a memorial on its grounds to give all Americans the opportunity "to learn of the proud and courageous tradition of service of Native Americans." Their legacy deserves our recognition.
2. AMIPAT_200925_013.JPG: Eagle-feather war bonnets adorn U.S. military uniform jackets at a Ton-Kon-Gah (Black Leggings Society) ceremonial, held annually to honor Kiowa tribal veterans. Near Anadarko, Oklahoma, 2006. National Museum of the American Indian
3. AMIPAT_200925_016.JPG: Horace Poolaw kneels in front of a P-40 Warhawk. MacDill Field, Tampa, Florida, ca. 1944. Poolaw (Kiowa, 1906–1984) was an aerial photographer for the Army Air Forces during World War II. Photo by Horace Poolaw. Courtesy estate of Horace Poolaw
4. AMIPAT_200925_019.JPG: Why Do Native Americans Serve? It doesn't seem to make sense: why would American Indians, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians serve a government that overran their homelands, suppressed their cultures, and confined many of them to reservations? The reasons are complex. For thousands of years, Native Americans have protected their communities and lands. A warrior's traditional role, however, involved more than fighting enemies. Warriors cared for people and helped in any time of difficulty. They would do anything to ensure their people's survival, including laying down their lives. Many Native Americans view service in the U.S. armed forces as a continuation of the warrior's role in Native cultures.
5. AMIPAT_200925_023.JPG: Members of the Ton-Kon-Gah, or Kiowa Black Leggings Society, discuss what it means to be a veteran before the start of a ceremony in memory of those who fought. The tipi depicts battles in which Kiowas participated and lists the names of all Kiowas killed in combat since World War II. Near Anadarko, Oklahoma, 2014. Photo by Nicole Tung
6. AMIPAT_200925_026.JPG: American Indian students from Carlisle Indian Industrial School. Hog Island Shipyard, Pennsylvania, September 4, 1918. Native people served the war effort in many different ways, including working in defense industries. These students from the Carlisle, Pennsylvania, boarding school built ships during World War I. Popperfoto / Contributor
7. AMIPAT_200925_029.JPG: Honor dance welcoming home Pascal Cleatus Poolaw Sr. (right, holding the American flag) after his service in the Korean War. To his right are members of the Kiowa War Mothers. Carnegie, Oklahoma, ca. 1952. Poolaw (Kiowa, 1922–1967) remains the most decorated American Indian soldier in history, having earned 42 medals and citations during three wars: World War II, Korea, and Vietnam. Photo by Horace Poolaw. Courtesy estate of Horace Poolaw
8. AMIPAT_200925_036.JPG: "That event was for us the greatest blow that could have been dealt us, unless it had been our total destruction." -- Chiefs of the Haudenosaunee [Iroquois], Shawnee, Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, and Loup Nations to Francisco Cruzat, Spanish governor of St. Louis, August 23, 1784 Conflicting Loyalties When the War of Independence began in 1775, the opposing powers sought first to secure the neutrality of, then to forge alliances with, powerful Indian Nations. Most nations sided with the British, who Native people considered less threatening than the land-hungry colonists. American victory in the Revolutionary War proved disastrous for American Indians. Abandoned by their British allies, Indian tribes were left to face Americans, who considered them conquered peoples. Still viewing Britain as their last, best hope against U.S. expansion, many Native Nations fought alongside the British during the War of 1812. All tribes, whether they supported the British or fought with the Americans, came to regret the U.S. victories of 1783 and 1814. Settlers now flooded their lands and set into motion the conflicts, land loss, and removals to come.
9. AMIPAT_200925_040.JPG: Military service record of John Montour, ca. 1781 John Montour (Lenape [Delaware]/Métis, 1744–1788) was a cultural mediator during the Revolutionary War between his people and Euro-Americans. He also served the Americans as captain of a company of Lenape [Delaware] soldiers. National Archives and Records Administration 31138408
10. AMIPAT_200925_044.JPG: Pushmataha, 1837 Choctaw chief Pushmataha (ca. 1760–1824) allied with the Americans during the War of 1812. Impressed by Pushmataha's achievements in both battle and diplomacy, U.S. army officers dubbed him the Indian General. John William Gear (1806–1866), copy after Charles Bird King (1785–1862). Hand-colored lithograph on paper. National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; gift of Betty A. and Lloyd G. Schermer. NPG.99.167.6
11. AMIPAT_200925_050.JPG: Pipe tomahawk presented to Chief Tecumseh, ca. 1812 Chief Tecumseh (Shawnee, 1768–1813), with his brother Tenskwatawa (also called the Shawnee Prophet, 1775–1837), traveled the Ohio Valley and succeeded in creating a pan-Indian tribal coalition that sided with the British in the War of 1812. Wood, iron, lead; 66 x 22.5 cm. Gift of Sarah Russell Imhof and Joseph A. Imhof. National Museum of the American Indian 17/6249
12. AMIPAT_200925_055.JPG: The Civil War Conflicting loyalties continued to torment Indian Country during the Civil War. Approximately 20,000 American Indians fought in the Civil War, most of them for the Confederacy -- a choice informed by the southern origins of many tribal nations, bitter memories of the Indian removals of the 1830s, and tribal grievances against federal treaty violations. Wearing blue uniforms were 3,600 American Indian soldiers who served bravely in the Union Army. The Native people who fought for the Union hoped their alliance would improve conditions in and defend their tribal homelands. American Indian volunteers on both sides wore their uniforms as proudly as their non-Native comrades did, and suffered the same appalling casualty rates. Of the 135 Oneida volunteers from Wisconsin in the Union Army, only 55 returned home -- a mortality rate of nearly 60 percent.
13. AMIPAT_200925_059.JPG: Stand Watie, 1860–65 Stand Watie (or Degataga, Cherokee, 1806–1871) was a controversial figure during one of the Cherokee Nation's darkest times. Occurring only a few decades after the tribe's removal to Indian Territory (present-day Oklahoma), the Civil War split the Cherokee and caused widespread destruction. Watie was elected principal chief of the Confederate-aligned Cherokee, and was awarded the rank of brigadier general -- the only American Indian to achieve that rank in the Civil War -- as commander of the Indian Cavalry Brigade. Photo by Mathew Brady. National Archives and Records Administration 529026
14. AMIPAT_200925_063.JPG: William Terrill Bradby, dressed traditionally and holding a club, October 1899 William Terrill Bradby (Pamunkey, 1833–?) and other men from Virginia's Pamunkey and Mattaponi Nations served as river pilots, land guides, and spies for the Union army during the 1862 Peninsular Campaign. They piloted steamers, tugboats, gunboats, and torpedo boats during the remainder of the Civil War. Photo by De Lancey W. Gill. National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution [NAA INV 06197600]
15. AMIPAT_200925_066.JPG: General Ulysses S. Grant (fourth from left) and his staff, including Lieutenant Colonel Ely S. Parker (second from the right), late spring, 1864 Photo by Mathew Brady. National Archives and Records Administration 524444
16. AMIPAT_200925_074.JPG: Ely S. Parker, 1860–65 At the surrender at Appomattox in 1865, Ely S. Parker (Seneca, 1828–1895) was the highest ranking American Indian in the Union Army, a lieutenant colonel. As General Ulysses S. Grant's secretary, he drafted the terms of surrender. General Lee, noticing that Parker was an American Indian, remarked, "I am glad to see one real American here." Parker later recalled, "I shook his hand and said, ‘We are all Americans.'" Photo by Mathew Brady. National Archives and Records Administration 529376
17. AMIPAT_200925_079.JPG: Army Scouts The end of the Civil War marks the beginning of a turbulent and tragic chapter in American Indian history. Enraged by increasing settlement on tribal lands, the expansion of railroads, the slaughter of bison herds, and government efforts to confine Indians to reservations, many Native Nations in the West took arms to defend their homelands and cultures. Faced with a shrinking army and a huge territory to protect, Congress in 1866 authorized the War Department to enlist up to a thousand Indians to act as scouts for the U.S. Army. Receiving the same pay and allowances as cavalry soldiers, Native American scouts played a critical role in tracking and engaging "hostile" Indian groups during the so-called Indian Wars of the mid-to-late 19th century.
18. AMIPAT_200925_083.JPG: San Carlos Apache scouts. Arizona, ca. 1885 Photo by J. C. Burges. General Nelson A. Miles Collection. Presented by Maj. Sherman Miles and Mrs. Samuel Reber. National Museum of the American Indian P6963
19. AMIPAT_200925_086.JPG: Bankston Johnson, 1898 Bankston Johnson (Choctaw, 1862?–?) was a trooper in Theodore Roosevelt's First Volunteer Cavalry Regiment, popularly known as the Rough Riders. The regiment was mustered in 1898 for the Spanish–American War. Victory in that war began a process that transformed the United States into a major world power. Stereograph by Strohmeyer & Wyman. Courtesy Library of Congress
20. AMIPAT_200925_088.JPG: World War I When the United States entered "the war to end all wars" in April 1917, Native Americans signed up to fight in and support it. Three thousand to six thousand Native men enlisted and another 6,500 were drafted. About two-thirds served in the infantry, winning widespread praise for bravery and achievement. But the cost was high: about 5 percent of Native combat soldiers were killed, compared to 1 percent of American forces overall. American Indians supported the war in other ways. At home, some 10,000 Indian women joined the Red Cross, donating time, money, and clothing. Native people also bought war bonds. By the war's end in November 1918, American Indians owned $25 million in bonds, about 75 dollars for every Native man, woman, and child. After fighting for democracy in Europe, many Native veterans expected that the United States would reward their patriotism by granting all of their people citizenship and recognizing the right of tribal self-determination.
21. AMIPAT_200925_092.JPG: Charlotte Edith Anderson Monture, 1919 Charlotte Edith Anderson Monture (Six Nations of the Grand River, 1890–1996) was the first Native Canadian registered nurse. Rejected from Canadian nursing schools because of her Native heritage, she sought training in the United States. In 1917, she volunteered for the U.S. Medical Corps and served in a hospital in France. She was one of 14 Native Canadian women who served in the Army Nurse Corps during World War I. Courtesy John Moses
22. AMIPAT_200925_097.JPG: Joseph Oklahombi (Choctaw), right, with John Golombie (Chickasaw) and Czarina Colbert Conlan (Choctaw/Chickasaw) at Oklahombi's home. Near Wright City, Oklahoma, May 12, 1921. Joseph Oklahombi (Choctaw, 1895–1960) was a code talker in the Choctaw language. He received a Silver Star and the French Croix de Guerre after he and 23 other soldiers captured 171 and killed 79 German soldiers. Photo by Hopkins. Courtesy Oklahoma Historical Society
23. AMIPAT_200925_100.JPG: Ferdinand Clark, 1922 Ferdinand Clark (Nanticoke, 1891–1932), who served with the Second Engineers in World War I, fought in the battles of Chateau Thierry, Soissons, St. Mihiel, Mont Blanc, Attigny, Argonne, and the Rhine. He was chief of the Nanticoke from 1928 to 1932. National Museum of the American Indian N12440
24. AMIPAT_200925_104.JPG: Code Talkers During World War I and World War II, a variety of American Indian languages were used to send secret military messages -- codes that enemies were never able to break. In World War I, Choctaw and other American Indians transmitted coded messages by telephone in their tribal languages. Although not used extensively, the telephone squads were key in helping the United States win several battles that ended the war. Beginning in 1940, the army used American Indian recruiters to find Native-language speakers who were willing to enlist. The Marine Corps recruited Diné [Navajo] code talkers in 1942 and very soon established a code-talking school.
25. AMIPAT_200925_108.JPG: Medal awarded by the Code Talkers Recognition Act of 2008 to the Tlingit Tribe of southeast Alaska for its service in World War II. United States Mint. Designed by Susan Gamble, engraved by Renata Gordon and Joseph Menna, 2013; gold; diam. 3 in.
26. AMIPAT_200925_112.JPG: Choctaw telephone squad, returned from fighting in World War I. Camp Merritt, New Jersey, June 7, 1919. From left: Corporal Solomon B. Louis, Private Mitchell Bobb, Corporal Calvin Wilson, Corporal James Edwards, Private George Davenport, Captain E. H. Horner. Photo by Dr. Joseph K. Dixon. Courtesy Mathers Museum of World Cultures, Indiana University
27. AMIPAT_200925_118.JPG: These are the American Indian code talkers' languages and the numbers of tribal members who served as code talkers, if known. WORLD WAR I Cherokee Cheyenne Choctaw (15) Comanche Mohawk Osage Pawnee Ponca Sac and Fox (Meskwaki) Sioux -- Lakota and Dakota dialect WORLD WAR II Acoma and Laguna Pueblo Apache Assiniboine Cherokee Chippewa Choctaw Comanche (17) Apsáalooke [Crow] Ho-Chunk Hopi (11) Kiowa Menominee Mohawk Muscogee [Creek] Oneida Navajo (about 420) Osage Pawnee Ponca Sac and Fox (Meskwaki) (19) Seminole Sioux -- Lakota and Dakota dialect Tlingit
28. AMIPAT_200925_120.JPG: Diné [Navajo] code talkers Corporal Henry Bahe, Jr. and Private First Class George H. Kirk. Bougainville, South Pacific, December 1943. National Archives and Records Administration 127-MN-69889-B
29. AMIPAT_200925_126.JPG: World War II American Indians, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians served in overwhelming numbers after the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. Forty-four thousand of a total Native American population of 350,000 saw active duty, including nearly 800 women. For this service they earned at least 71 Air Medals, 34 Distinguished Flying Crosses, 51 Silver Stars, 47 Bronze Stars, and five Medals of Honor. More than 2,000 Native Hawaiians served in the U.S. Army, and over 6,000 Alaska Natives served in the Alaska Territorial Guard.
30. AMIPAT_200925_130.JPG: General Douglas MacArthur, commander-in-chief of the Allied forces in the South Pacific, on an inspection trip of American battle fronts, late 1943. From left, Staff Sergeant Virgil Brown (Pima), First Sergeant Virgil F. Howell (Pawnee), Staff Sergeant Alvin J. Vilcan (Chitimacha), General MacArthur, Sergeant Byron L. Tsingine (Diné [Navajo]), Sergeant Larry Dekin (Diné [Navajo]). U.S. Army Signal Corps
31. AMIPAT_200925_133.JPG: Marine Corps Women Reservists, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, October 16, 1943. From left, Minnie Spotted Wolf (Blackfoot), Celia Mix (Potawatomi), and Viola Eastman (Chippewa). National Archives and Records Administration 535876
32. AMIPAT_200925_136.JPG: Leonard Lowry, ca. 1955 Lieutenant Colonel Leonard Lowry (Mountain Maidu/Pit River/Washo/Modoc, 1920–1999) was one of the most decorated Native Americans to serve in World War ll. Lowry also served in Korea, earning during his career a Distinguished Service Cross, two Silver Stars, five Purple Hearts, a Legion of Merit, and a World War II Victory Medal. Courtesy Judith Lowry
33. AMIPAT_200925_139.JPG: President Obama awards Joseph Medicine Crow (Apsáalooke [Crow], 1913–2016) the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Washington, DC, August 2009. The Apsáalooke [Crow] people named Medicine Crow a war chief for his military exploits in Europe during World War II. JEWEL SAMAD / AFP / Getty Images
34. AMIPAT_200925_145.JPG: Ira Hayes Corporal Ira Hamilton Hayes (Pima, 1923–1955) remains one of the best-known American Indians to serve in World War II. In 1945, Hayes was one of the six servicemen who raised the American flag during the Battle of Iwo Jima in the South Pacific -- a moment captured in a celebrated photograph. The men became national heroes. "Sometimes I wish that guy had never made that picture," confessed Hayes, who afterward attempted without success to lead a private life. Uncomfortable with fame, Hayes succumbed to alcoholism and died at age 33. He was buried with full honors at Arlington National Cemetery.
35. AMIPAT_200925_148.JPG: Ira Hayes, age 19, at the U.S. Marine Corps Parachute Training School, where he was dubbed Chief Falling Cloud. San Diego, California, 1943. National Archives and Records Administration 519164
36. AMIPAT_200925_151.JPG: The historic photograph by Joe Rosenthal, taken on February 23, 1945, depicts five Marines and a Navy corpsman raising a U.S. flag atop Mount Suribachi during the battle for the island of Iwo Jima in World War II. Ira Hayes is on the far left. AP Wide World Photos
37. AMIPAT_200925_154.JPG: Marine Private First Class Ira Hayes illustrates the part he played in raising the American flag on Mount Suribachi by pointing to his image on the historical photo of the event, April 1945. RBM Vintage Images / Alamy Stock Photo
38. AMIPAT_200925_158.JPG: The Thunderbirds One of America's most acclaimed World War II combat units was the 45th Infantry Division, known as the Thunderbirds for their distinctive insignia. Many American Indians served in the 45th, including three who received the Medal of Honor: Jack Montgomery (Cherokee, 1917–2002), Van T. Barfoot (Choctaw, 1919–2012), and Ernest Childers (Muscogee [Creek], 1918–2005). Formed as a National Guard unit in 1923, the Thunderbirds were deployed to North Africa in June 1943. After invading Sicily and participating in the invasions of Salerno and Anzio in Italy, the division invaded southern France and fought in fierce combat in the Vosges Mountains before crossing the border into Germany. There, the unit liberated Dachau concentration camp, freeing more than 30,000 prisoners. General Patton said to the Thunderbirds, "You are one of the best, if not the best, divisions in the history of American arms."
39. AMIPAT_200925_162.JPG: Three American Indian members of the 180th Infantry Regiment, 45th Infantry Division. Pier 8, Hampton Roads Port of Embarkation, Newport News, Virginia, June 5, 1943. From this port, more than 700,000 soldiers traveled overseas during World War II. From left: First Lieutenant Howard Kilpatrick (Cherokee), Private First Class Everett B. Bevenue (Muscogee [Creek]), Private First Class Henry T. Lukee (Zuni Pueblo). Library of Virginia
40. AMIPAT_200925_166.JPG: After the soldiers of the 42nd and 45th Infantry Divisions of the 7th U.S. Army arrived, prisoners at the Dachau concentration camp rejoiced in their freedom by raising a homemade American flag. Dachau, Germany, April 30, 1945. Photo12 / UIG / Getty Images
41. AMIPAT_200925_169.JPG: THUNDERBIRD SHOULDER PATCH The Thunderbirds got their name from their shoulder patch. Each side of the square represents one of the four states -- Oklahoma, Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico -- that originally populated the division. The colors reflect the Hispanic heritage of those states. Originally a traditional American Indian design similar to the Nazi swastika, the emblem had to change once Hitler rose to power and the symbol took on a different meaning. After holding an art competition, the division adopted in 1939 the thunderbird motif, designed by Kiowa artist Woody Big Bow (1914–1998).
42. AMIPAT_200925_172.JPG: Recruiting from Chilocco Indian School In the late 1800s, the U.S. government founded boarding schools where American Indian children were sent to be assimilated into mainstream American culture. Many of the schools were run in a military style, with organized companies, uniforms, and strict discipline. This made them a target of recruitment for the U.S. armed forces. Founded in 1884, the Chilocco Indian Agricultural School educated boys and girls from tribes across the United States. In 1923, the 180th Infantry Regiment, 45th Infantry Division, of the Oklahoma National Guard recruited from local National Guard units, which included many current and former Chilocco students. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, many of Chilocco's staff and students enlisted in all military branches. Two notable Chilocco graduates who joined the 45th Division are Ernest Childers (Muscogee [Creek]) and Jack Montgomery (Cherokee), both of whom earned the Medal of Honor.
43. AMIPAT_200925_175.JPG: Chilocco alumnus Ernest Childers (Muscogee [Creek]) receives the Congressional Medal of Honor from Lieutenant General Jacob L. Devers (left). 5th Army headquarters, April 8, 1944. Lieutenant Childers received the honor because, working under heavy enemy fire, he wiped out 2 German machine gun nests near Oliveto, Italy, killing enemy snipers and capturing an artillery observer. Bettmann / Getty Images
44. AMIPAT_200925_179.JPG: Chilocco Company C, 279th Infantry Regiment, in front of the school entrance. Near Newkirk, Oklahoma, ca. 1950. 45th Infantry Division Museum
45. AMIPAT_200925_181.JPG: Company I of the 180th Infantry Regiment, 45th Infantry Division. Camp Barkeley, Texas, April 5, 1941. Many students from Chilocco were members of Companies C and I of the 180th Infantry Regiment. Lieutenant Jack Montgomery (Cherokee) is seated in the front row, far right. Montgomery earned the Medal of Honor for his bravery during the Battle of Anzio, Italy. His actions led to 11 enemy killed and 32 taken prisoner. 45th Infantry Division Museum
46. AMIPAT_200925_184.JPG: Korea The Korean War began in June 1950, when Communist North Korean troops crossed the 38th parallel dividing the Korean Peninsula. For the next three years, American forces -- including approximately 10,000 American Indian soldiers -- along with troops from 15 other nations, fought to prevent a Communist takeover. Considered a "police action" because Congress issued no formal declaration of war, the Korean War was nevertheless bloody and brutal. Some 33,739 American soldiers died in battle, including 194 Native Americans.
47. AMIPAT_200925_188.JPG: Master Sergeant Woodrow Wilson Keeble, ca. 1955 Woodrow Wilson Keeble (Eastern Sioux, 1917–1982) was a veteran of World War II and the Korean War. For his actions in combat, he received the Distinguished Service Cross, the Silver Star, the Bronze Star, 2 Purple Hearts, and the Combat Infantryman Badge. In 2007, his Distinguished Service Cross was posthumously upgraded to the Medal of Honor for his bravery during the Korean War. U.S. Army National Guard
48. AMIPAT_200925_191.JPG: John Emhoolah, ca. 1950 John Emhoolah (Kiowa/Arapaho, b. 1929) was one of five brothers who served in the military. Upon his return from the Korean War, he became active in the fight to restore Native Nations' treaty rights. Courtesy Debbie Emhoolah
49. AMIPAT_200925_195.JPG: Vietnam Of the 42,000 American Indians who served in the U.S. armed forces during the Vietnam conflict (1964–75), 90 percent were volunteers. Approximately one of every four eligible Native people served, compared with one of twelve in the general population. Of those, 226 died in action and five received the Medal of Honor. Like many other Vietnam veterans, American Indians were often deeply traumatized by what they experienced. Some noticed similarities between the Native and Vietnamese colonial experiences. As one veteran observed, "We went into their country and killed them and took land that wasn't ours. Just like the whites did to us. We shouldn't have done that. Browns against browns. That screwed me up, you know." When the veterans returned, many found solace and healing in their communities' ceremonies and honors. Many also joined political organizations, such as the American Indian Movement and the National Indian Youth Council, to work for social justice and change.
50. AMIPAT_200925_199.JPG: Jefferson Keel (right, shown here with Jacqueline Pata [Tlingit]), 2013 Jefferson Keel (Chickasaw, b. 1947) received the Bronze Star for valor, two Purple Hearts, and numerous other awards for heroism. Currently the lieutenant governor of the Chickasaw Nation, he achieved the rank of army captain during 20 years of active duty, which included two tours in Vietnam as an Airborne Ranger. Mary Shinn / Cronkite News Service
51. AMIPAT_200925_202.JPG: Donna Loring, 1966 Donna Loring (Penobscot, b. 1948) served in 1967 and 1968 as a communications specialist at Long Binh Post in Vietnam, where she processed casualty reports from throughout Southeast Asia. She was the first woman police academy graduate to become a police chief in Maine, serving as the Penobscots' police chief from 1984 to 1990. In 1999 Maine governor Angus King commissioned her to the rank of colonel and appointed her his advisor on women veterans' affairs. Courtesy Donna Loring
52. AMIPAT_200925_205.JPG: Kiowa Marine veteran Master Gunnery Sergeant Vernon Tsoodle's dance regalia blends United States and tribal military traditions. A Marine Corps medallion hangs on a beaded necklace beside a gourd rattle made from a Vietnamese hand grenade. The fan is made with bald eagle feathers, which represent strength. The beaded pin indicates that Tsoodle is a descendant of Red Tipi, father of Satanta, one of the best known Kiowa war chiefs. Photo by Nancy Tsoodle Moser, 2009
53. AMIPAT_200925_209.JPG: Vietnam Era Veterans Inter-Tribal Association Color Guard (VEVITA) leads the grand entry at the National Powwow. Washington, DC, 2007. National Museum of the American Indian
54. AMIPAT_200925_215.JPG: Global Conflicts in the 21st Century Since the Gulf War (1990–91), the United States has been engaged in an ongoing series of conflicts, primarily in Afghanistan and Iraq. American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian men and women continue to serve in high numbers at home and abroad. According to the Department of Defense, more than 24,000 of the 1.2 million current active-duty servicemen and women are Native Americans.
55. AMIPAT_200925_221.JPG: Lori Ann Piestewa, ca. 2003 Private First Class Lori Ann Piestewa (Hopi, 1979–2003) was the first woman killed in action during Operation Iraqi Freedom and the first known Native American woman to die in combat. Photo by Piestewa Family / Getty Images
56. AMIPAT_200925_224.JPG: Joshua Wheeler, 2015 Master Sergeant Joshua Wheeler (Cherokee, 1975–2015) was a member of the army's elite Delta Force and the recipient of 11 Bronze Stars during his military career. Wheeler died on October 22, 2015, while rescuing prisoners from the so-called Islamic State (ISIS) near Hawijah in northern Iraq. He was the first known U.S. military casualty in the fight against ISIS. U.S. Army
57. AMIPAT_200925_227.JPG: Desert Thunder, an all-Cherokee drum group. Al Taqaddum Air Base, Iraq, 2004. During the Iraq War the 120th Engineer Combat Battalion of Okmulgee, Oklahoma, hosted a powwow at Al Taqaddum Air Base near Fallujah, Iraq, on September 17 and 18, 2004, to offset pangs of homesickness. "The beat of the drum is a part of the heartbeat of a Native American," said Sergeant Debra Mooney (Choctaw), who planned the event. Photo by Chuck Boers
58. AMIPAT_200925_231.JPG: Our Spirits Will Protect You One of the important ways Native Americans have maintained the health of their communities is through ceremonies. An important way of safeguarding individuals and communities from sickness, disharmony, and social breakdown, ceremonies prepare and protect warriors before they leave for the battlefield. When they return, other ceremonies welcome, heal, honor, and help them let go. Today, many Native communities continue traditions that help returned veterans heal in mind and spirit or assist those who died in finding their way in the afterlife.
59. AMIPAT_200925_234.JPG: Staffs tied with eagle feathers at a Ton-Kon-Gah, or Black Leggings Society, ceremonial honoring Kiowa military veterans. Near Anadarko, Oklahoma, 2014. Photo by Nicole Tung
60. AMIPAT_200925_236.JPG: Specialist Leslie Montemayor (Muscogee [Creek]/Seminole) dances alone in memory of a fellow warrior, September 2004. During a powwow in Iraq, an honor ceremony was held for Private Raymond Bryan Estes III (Ponca, 1979–1998). His family sent a dance shawl to be used in the powwow. Photo by Chuck Boers
61. AMIPAT_200925_239.JPG: The Native American Women Warriors lead the grand entry during a powwow in Pueblo, Colorado, June 14, 2014. From left: Sergeant First Class Mitchelene BigMan (Apsáalooke [Crow]/Hidatsa), Sergeant Lisa Marshall (Cheyenne River Sioux), Specialist Krissy Quinones (Apsáalooke [Crow]), and Captain Calley Cloud (Apsáalooke [Crow]), with Tia Cyrus (Apsáalooke [Crow]) behind them. The organization, founded by Mitchelene BigMan in 2012, raises awareness about Native American women veterans and provides support services in health, employment, and education. Photo by Nicole Tung
62. AMIPAT_200925_242.JPG: BE PART OF A HISTORIC MOMENT: The National Native American Veterans Memorial Native Americans have participated in every major U.S. military encounter from the Revolutionary War to today's conflicts in the Middle East, yet no landmark in our nation's capital recognizes this contribution. The Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian will create that landmark: the National Native American Veterans Memorial. The anticipated dedication of this tribute to Native heroes will be on Veterans Day 2020. The National Museum of the American Indian is depending on your support to honor and recognize these Native American veterans for future generations. "This is a tremendously important effort to recognize Native Americans' service to this nation. We have so much to celebrate." -- The Honorable Ben Nighthorse Campbell (Northern Cheyenne)
63. AMIPAT_200925_258.JPG: "This is a tremendously important effort to recognize Native Americans' service to this nation. We have so much to celebrate." -- The Honorable Ben Nighthorse Campbell (Northern Cheyenne)
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2020 photos: Well, that was a year, wasn't it? The COVID-19 pandemic cut off most events here in DC after March 11. The child president's handling of the pandemic was a series of disastrous missteps and lies, encouraging his minions to not wear masks and dramatically increasing infections and deaths here.The BLM protests started in June, made all the worse by the child president's inability to have any empathy for anyone other than himself. Then of course he tried to steal the election in November. What a year! Equipment this year: I continued to use my Fuji XS-1 cameras but, depending on the event, I also used a Nikon D7000. The farthest distance I traveled after that was about 40 miles. I only visited sites in four states -- Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia and DC. That was the least amount of travel I had done since 1995. Number of photos taken this year: about 246,000, the fewest number of photos I had taken in any year since 2007.
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