As the nation marked Veterans Day, the sacrifice and service of Native Americans were recognized as the National Native American Veterans Memorial, located on the grounds of the National Museum of the American Indian, was officially dedicated Friday.
It started with a procession of hundreds of Native Americans who have served like Mitchelene BigMan of the crow tribe of Montana.
“This is something that means more to us because we’ve been in every war,” she said.
Lonnie Bunch, secretary of the Smithsonian, spoke at the dedication, calling Native Americans true patriots.
“Native people fought for this country, a country candidly, that occupied their homelands, disrespected their tribal sovereignty and combined their people to reservations,” Bunch said.
Cynthia Chavez Lamar, director of the museum, thanked Native all Native Americans who have served. “I want to share my deep gratitude for your service and sacrifice,” she said.
American Indians and Alaska Natives serve in the Armed Forces at five times the national average. They also have a higher concentration of women service members than all other groups. Nearly 20% of American Indians and Alaska Natives service members were women, while 15.6% of all other service members were women.
