Topic: Native American Veterans & Military

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Comment by LadyHawkღ on June 26, 2011 at 2:29pm

A great site for information...
http://www.unitednativeamerica.com/veterans.html

Comment by LadyHawkღ on June 26, 2011 at 2:23pm

Plymouth, NH—In less than two months, the Diversity Fellows at Plymouth State University, part of the university system of New Hampshire, and the New Hampshire Inter-tribal Native American Council (NHINAC) organized, promoted, and held the first-ever Veterans Pow Wow in the John C. Foley Gymnasium.

According to student organizer Elizabeth Anne Montmagny, around 600 people came through the doors. She also said, “We had 20 vendors and the circle was always full of dancers.”

The first-time university pow wow comes on the heels of the state’s establishment of an Indian Commission. “New Hampshire is no longer one of the only states in the country without an Indian Commission,” stated Chief of NHINAC Peter Newell. “We are official and we are here for you.” The fifteen-member Commission was invited to the event to be introduced to the public.

Newell is also the primary mover and shaker responsible for the erection of a singular Native American Veterans War Memorial. It, too, was installed last summer, at the New Hampshire Veterans Cemetery in Boscawen, NH. The script reads, “Dedicated to all Native American Veterans, American and Canadian, who served to protect this land called Turtle Island.”

The Newell’s are of Penobscot and Mi’kmaq descent (these are two of the seven tribes of the Wabanaki Confederacy). The people of the Confederacy continue to live on their land with various levels of recognition in both Canada and the United States (in present day New Hampshire, Maine, north central Massachusetts, and Vermont). The monument shows the flags of the United States and Canada and a Native staff. Newell worked with the stonemason to design a granite Drum suspended within a stone arch. Eastern Woodland-style moccasins are engraved above the drum and POW/MIA is engraved below. (Veterans or survivors may order pavers with name engraving through the NHINAC website).

Comment by LadyHawkღ on June 26, 2011 at 2:18pm

Swastika To Thunderbird45th division museum
For the first 15 years of its existence, members of the 45th Infantry Division proudly wore on their left shoulders an ancient American Indian symbol of good luck, most commonly referred to as the swastika. The insignia served as recognition of the great number of Native Americans proudly serving in the 45th Infantry Division. The yellow swastika on a square background of red symbolized the Spanish Heritage of the 4 Southwestern states that made up the membership of the 45th—Oklahoma, New Mexico, Colorado, and Arizona. A similar symbol was adopted by the Nazi party in the late 1920’s, and as the N.S.D.A.P. rose to power in 1933 the symbol became so closely associated with German National socialism that it had to be abandoned as the insignia of the 45th Infantry Division.

For many months division members wore no insignia, while the design for a new emblem was being explored. The 45th Infantry Division held a contest to assist in selection of the new insignia and many designs were submitted. The contest was overseen by a board of officers who eventually determined the Thunderbird would become the new insignia of the 45th Infantry Division. In keeping with the tradition formerly established, it was also decided to maintain the same colors and design of the original insignia.

In 1939 after approval of the Commanding General, Eighth Corps Area, and the Chief of the National Guard Bureau, the Thunderbird design was officially approved by the War Department and authorized for manufacture and wear. The document approving the design, which was to become famous in World War II and the Korean War, stated that, the Thunderbird was a Native American symbol signifying "sacred bearer of happiness unlimited."