Dept. of Defense celebrates the legacy of Native Americans in the armed forces

Published: Nov. 14, 2024 at 3:55 PM AKST

FAIRBANKS, Alaska (KTVF)—The day after Veterans Day, the Department of Defense gave an address and wrote about the legacy of Indigenous people in the armed forces as part of Native American Heritage Month.

For centuries, Native Americans have been a part of military history in the United States, from fighting alongside the Continental Army against the British to serving around the world today. The success of American forces couldn’t have happened without the indigenous soldiers of the country.

On Nov. 12, Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks provided a 53-second address acknowledging the efforts and importance of Native Americans in the armed forces. “The talents of the thousands of American Indians and Alaska Natives who serve in our military today has been key to building and maintaining the finest fighting force in the world,” said Hicks. She also noted the unique contributions of certain groups, such as the Navajo, who used their language to create an unbreakable code during World War II.

The legacy of Native Americans in the military is also strong in the last frontier, where Alaska Natives served in the military since World War I, according to Benno Cleveland, a member of the Alaska Native Veterans Association.

Alaska Natives also have the highest rate of military service compared to other ethnicities. According the Dept. of Veterans Affairs, American Indians and Alaska Natives have served at a higher rate than any other race with 17% of that population enlisting into America’s defense forces.

Cleveland said that service is carried out with dignity and honor despite the historic trauma carried out against Alaska Natives and American Indians alike. “We people of the land, we understood that this was still our land, and it was still our people, and we would continue to serve to protect that land and our people,” he said. “Then, as we became citizens, then we also swore an oath to the United States to protect the constitution, the land, and our people, and we continue to do that up to this day.”

While the experience of that service has varied over time, from person to person, Cleveland spoke positively about his experience. “When we joined up with the military, we took our oath and no matter what branch we went into, there was no differences between being native, a white soldier, black soldier or an oriental, we were all one.”

On Veterans Day, Sen. Dan Sullivan, a Marine veteran himself, also noted the difficulties that have faced that legacy in Alaska as apologies are still being made to the communities that were once attacked by their own country. Specifically, the attacks on the communities of Kake and Angoon were made by the U.S. Navy shortly after purchasing Alaska from Russia.

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