Pride, Appreciation and Reverence—Events to Honor First Nation Veterans
Chief Plenty Coups Honor Guard-Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Arlington Nat’l Cemetery
Editor’s Note: Marguerite Felig is WFWP Representative for Billings, MT and shares her experiences attending a First Nation’s Warrior’s Honoring and organizing an event with Sacred First Nations for Peace along with Dr. Linda Lucero Nishikawa, WFWP West Regional Coordinator and President of Sacred First Nations for Peace. WFWP applauds their efforts to honor and recognize these amazing First Nations women and men during this month to celebrate Native American Heritage.
Event #1: Warrior’s Honoring: First-hand account of visit to the Crow nation.
Crow Agency, Montana is the town 60 miles from Billings where Apsaalooke Warrior Bay Apts., and the Veterans Tribal Outreach Office share a space out on the expansive Great Plains. This isn’t a picturesque town. It’s a place where people dig in to survive and take care of one another. Buildings are collapsing, the wind howls, sunrises and sunsets burn orange, yellow and purple and coyotes and dogs scrounge for food. Family is the drum that beats like the deep, resonant sound of a hollow log on the Crow Reservation.
Dr. Linda Lucero Nishikawa, the President of the Sacred First Nations for Peace (SFNP) and WFWP West Regional Coordinator asked me to help organize an honoring program for First Nations veterans and a Marriage Blessing and rededication for couples, families and communities in November. November is the month of Veterans Day and it’s First Nations Month. My first contact in organizing was the Veteran’s Tribal Outreach Coordinator on the Crow Reservation, Mary Louise LaForge.
Mary LaForge is a veteran of the Vietnam War. After talking about our desire to hold an event to honor First Nations veterans, she first invited me to the Warrior’s Honoring being held by the Crow Nation on November 13. Mary explained that Chief Plenty Coups Honor Guards and other Crow Veterans were being honored and it would be a good first place to meet people.
Chief Plenty Coups Honor Guard- Crow Agency, MT
When I arrived at the multi-purpose building at the Crow Agency, tables occupied by proud veterans with their families were located around the outer edge of the space. Many men wore caps designating their branch and place of US Military Service.
The first event I saw was the “Honor Guard.” Three teams of three to four men each marched in step holding the American flag and the beautiful Crow Nation’s flag. They first marched out halfway across the room, and then back to the start. Chief Plenty Coups Honor Guard, just having returned from Arlington National Cemetery where they rededicated the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, earned second place. I began to understand the meaning of “honoring” as it’s used to express pride, appreciation, and reverence. I had a short, up-close course in First Nation’s patriotism and love for America.
The next group that stepped up to “honor” were the “War Mothers.” They are women whose sons were in a military conflict or a war. The women “danced” but more accurately stepped gently, quietly with shawls held over their shoulders. They stayed in a single line that moved slowly and with dignity around to the rhythm of hand drums and a sacred song. Solemn and inexorable, they danced in a huge oval, finally reaching around the whole space.
After them came the drummers, the heart beats of families expressed by men who know drums and make them, and whose cries reach up to the heavens.
During the honoring, plaques and prizes of blankets and cash were handed out to veterans. Families also had the chance to get their pictures taken by a local photographer free of charge, in honor of the veterans.
After witnessing such a moving event we wanted to also honor and connect these heroes with the work of the Sacred First Nations for Peace.
Event #2: “Blessing First Nations and Honoring Veterans”
Sacred First Nations for Peace of Billings, Montana organized two events to honor First Nation veterans and to share our vision for peace. The first event took place on November 19, at the Apsaalooke Warrior Bay Apts.
Mary LaForge, who had invited me to the Warrior’s Honoring a few days before, had tables and chairs set up when Sacred Nations for Peace representatives Dr. Linda Lucero Nishikawa and Pastor Walter Frank arrived. There were boxes of festive red-white-and-blue flowers, flags and banners brought out, and with our red-white-and-blue tablecloths this made everyone's patriotic spirits soar! As veterans and their families arrived, many smiling faces radiated quiet appreciation and joy.
Pastor Walter Frank talks about “True Family Values”
I introduced Dr. Linda Lucero Nishikawa; the Pueblo First Nation’s President of Sacred First Nations for Peace. Dr. Linda praised the patriotism and heroism of Crow and other First Peoples. She shared her own family’s history of military service. Her father was in the Korean War and her brothers enlisted and served in the military.
Father and Mother Moon’s lifelong commitment is to heal First Nations and peoples of all races, cultures and traditions through the transformative Marriage Blessing, which thousands of couples have participated in from around the world, she explained. By participating in this moving ceremony, families and communities are opening paths for reconciliation between different races and cultures. Father and Mother Moon have sought to bring peace and raise our awareness of the Creator's aching heart. She shared that due to the way we mistreat and mistrust each other, Mother Earth and our Creator are full of suffering. Her words evoked a warm spirit that seemed to embrace each person who was present.
Dr. Linda then introduced Pastor Walter Frank who spoke about True Family Values, the path to reconciliation, harmony and peace. All the beings in creation are able to reconcile themselves to one another, Frank said, but mankind must be able to do this for peace on Earth to come into being! His words were very powerful, and the large audience was moved.
There were ten “Sacred First Nations for Peace - Ambassadors For Peace” plaques given to veterans in honor of their US Military Service. Two of these Awards were given to Korean War Veterans. The Chief Plenty Coups Honor Guard, who had just returned from rededicating the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery was honored as well. One of the Honor Guard, Vincent GoesAhead Pretty read the names of each veteran and translated it into Crow language. Many of the Crow people are fluent in their language, and prefer it to English.
After the marriage rededication it was time to share a meal of sandwiches, homemade beef vegetable soup, and celebration cake! Conversation and words of appreciation were the icing on the cake for many of the veterans who were honored, and for their families, too.
Event #3: Continuing to Honor those who Served
Our efforts to honor First Nations Veterans during this month of November concluded on Saturday, November 20, 2021 with another Marriage Blessing and Honoring of Veterans at Montana Family Church in Billings. Altogether 16 people attended. There was an introduction to Sacred First Nations for Peace by Dr. Nishikawa, and the True Family Values presentation given by Pastor Frank.
The honoring included six veterans, and some received plaques for friends who couldn’t attend. There was another marriage rededication, as well!
After the honoring and blessing was completed, everyone shared celebration cake, fellowship and lunch together. This was a smaller gathering, but everyone had a memorable experience.
First Nation Peoples contributions to American history and their stories need to be honored by all Americans. Take time in the month of November or any time of year to honor First Nations People near you by visiting a First Nations People’s historical site, attending a pow wow, or find other ways to support and connect to the First Nations People. Feel free to write to us about your experience either as a learner or a member of any of the First People Nations.
