The 78-year-old Marine, who lives in Lapwai, Idaho, served as the head man dancer at this summer's powwow on the Grand Ronde Reservation. “I'm not doing too good a job,” he said. “It's too hard on me. My legs are all shot up.”
The Tututni elder's legs may be ravaged by war, but his memory stands quick and readily recalls small details of big moments during time served in the Korean War. Dates, times, places, names remain etched from days when a bullet exited the back of his head and a mortar round broke both legs at the knees.
The powwow was a reminder that if you're in Indian Country, it doesn't have to be Veterans Day to celebrate a war hero and those who fill the ranks of the U.S. armed forces.
As the summer months roll by, the powwow season bustles with dancers. And powwows become a common venue to find veterans called front-and-center for recognition. Even then, the Grande Ronde Veterans Powwow organizers manage to go above and beyond.
Their efforts weren't lost on the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force and Coast Guard service members of all races who arrived in full force at the powwow arena. I had the chance to visit with many of them, ranging from elders and leather-clad Harley riders to representatives from the Department of Veterans Affairs.
The two-day event was highlighted with veteran introductions and two medal presentations. Recipients received Veterans of Oregon Honorable Service, Warrior of Valor and Order of the Silver Rose medals.
“You see these hard-core guys get tears in their eyes before you present it,” said Gene Labonte, chairman of the Northwest Indian Veterans Association. “A lot of people never had any recognition before this.”
As a veteran of the U.S. Army and Air and Army National Guard units, I, too, received the medals. As I stood in line, I didn't expect to be overwhelmed. But I truly felt honored to stand with those who fought on the front lines, with people who truly gave of themselves. Some came home broken. Some fell apart after they came home.
Dave Smith was a door gunner for an Army aviation unit when he was exposed to Agent Orange. The 55-year-old Navajo man lost all the toes on both his feet about eight years after coming back to the United States. Twenty million gallons of the toxic chemical were dumped on jungle vegetation in Vietnam, and more than 600,000 deaths have been attributed to Agent Orange. The Veterans of Oregon association presented Smith with a Silver Rose medal.
Jim Willis, director of the Oregon Department of Veterans Affairs, was among several military representatives who were on hand to answer service-related questions about medical, education and homeownership benefits.
He wore a Native-style ribbon shirt and joined other veterans in the powwow's grand entry.
“What brings me here is the honor they're paying to all veterans of all eras, no matter when they served or whether they're tribal members or not,” Willis said. “As the director of veterans affairs, this is the place I should be.”
He described the annual powwow as the largest he's ever seen.
“What stays the same is the level of respect. If you walk around, you see people hugging one another and really expressing genuine affection. And they've never met before.”
While the veteran honoring celebrations continue in Native communities across the country, some people don't understand why Indians would support and celebrate the flag of a country whose historical record is rife with abuse and mistreatment of indigenous people.
“I was talking to a sergeant first class who was a full-blooded Cherokee from Oklahoma,” said Willis. “We were taking about why Native people serve, including Hawaiians and Alaskans, in the armed forces in such large numbers. His answer was so simple and so direct. He said, ‘You have to remember, this was my country before it was your country. And I love it. And any danger to this country is a danger to my people, to my pride and to my tradition. And I'm going to defend that. And my children are going to defend that.' ”
June Sell-Sherer, a veteran of the Women's Army Corps and a citizen of the Grande Ronde confederacy, said she's proud of her tribe's annual event. “It's one of the greatest things we do. Our veterans need this.”
Willis agrees: “This is as much an American event as anything that anyone could hope to attend, whether it be a county fair or state fair or some kind of veterans convention. The same elements are here that you see there. And there is a different level of pride that is associated with being Native peoples - and welcoming others into their midst.
“I just hope it continues forever.”
Reporter Jodi Rave can be reached at 1-800-366-7186 or at jodi.rave@lee.net.
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