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Posted on 04/11/2003 9:29:45 AM PDT by Bad Eagle
Tribute to a Hopi Warrior By David Yeagley
“Hoka hey!” cried the Sioux in 1876, “It’s a good day to die.” Maybe the Hopi Indians can say the same thing today, in 2003. PFC Lori Piestewa, a Hopi Indian woman from Tuba City, Arizona, was killed in action in Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Many reports call attention to the fact that she was the first woman soldier killed in the Iraqi conflict, and that she was one of the few Indian women in United States military service.
And for whom was 22-year-old Pfc. Piestewa fighting? The people of Iraq, the people of America, the people of the world who love freedom, and, I say Piestewa was also fighting for the American Indian.
Lori has helped create a good path for Indians, toward a better future. We Indians need to value the opportunities we have here in America, “home of the braves.” We have no other home. We’ve just seen in Iraq what kind of horrible regimes can develop in this world. Would Indians prefer Hussein to George Bush? I think not.
And Lori’s path was made before she was born. It is a well-worn path. Many Indians have walked on it. In her own family, her father is a Vietnam veteran, and her grandfather is a WWII veteran. This young mother of two, a 4-year-old son and a 3-year-old daughter, comes from a family who values courage and fortitude, and they’re willing to show it through service in the United States military. Pfc. Piestewa attended the ROTC program during high school.
She wasn’t the first Indian woman to serve in the U.S. military, either. In fact, Indian women have served the American military since the days of the Revolution. As of 1994, 1,509 are known to serve in active duty. The thousands that have served from the beginning are just now being rediscovered and recognized. Some were nurses, some were technical assistants, and some were combatants.
There is a new memorial planned in Washington, DC to honor all women veterans. The American Indian Women veterans are a special division within this effort, among other ethnic divisions.
Considering the percentage within any ethnic group, American Indians have indeed always made a strong showing in the United States Military. Nearly 200,000 Indians are living veterans today. Depending on who’s census is referenced, that could be as high as one out of ten Indians. This is by far the largest percentage of any group.
And unlike the Black Radical Congress, which bemoans the “disproportionate” number of Negroes in the military (as if the government has some racist plot to eliminate them, and which is simply not true, statistically), American Indians are very proud of our service to the country.
Yet, when modern American Indian and white leaders continually lament the historical plight of American Indians, denouncing the basis of American government, it might seem surprising that so many Indians find meaning in American military service. As a journalist, I’ve tried to explain this Indian disposition since I first appeared on Front Page Magazine, January 17, 2001. I’ve tried to show the value of the Indian warrior image, and tried to tell Indians that our best future lies in American Patriotism, not in protesting the past, or even lamenting the present.
I’ve spoken against all the liberal, Leftist jargon disseminated through Indian media, warning Indians not to associate with anti-American forces. I thought my message was beginning to get through.
But Lori’s done a better job than I. Her message is much louder and clearer.
A Sioux woman in South Dakota heard it, too, even before Lori was reported KIA. Betty Ann Gross held a special Indian ceremony for Lori on March 20, outside Watertown. In the lonely hills of the north prairie, Betty brought together a group of veterans and they all made a sacred circle, leading two horses specially dressed for the ceremony. Eagle feathers on one horse’s mane blessed Lori, and bells on the other horse’s mane called her home to America, to her people.
A week later, snow fell in Tuba City, Arizona. The Hopi said is was Lori’s spirit returned to them, returned to her family, her people, her home, and to her country, America.
When today’s American Indian image is dominated by professional, communist-funded activists who make a living by criticizing America and condemning the very heart of America’s existence, it’s a good thing that Pfc. Piestewa stood up valiantly for higher values, and gave her life for them. Indeed, it was a good day to die.
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Shortly after the war began, the Menominee Reservation in Wisconsin held a ceremony for their active members of the armed forces. For this very small reservation, they have over 50 members serving in the Army, Navy, Marines and Air Force. At the Oneida Tribe Pow-Wows I've been to, the first ones to come in are the veterans of various wars. It's a moving tribune to our veterans.
I find that so comforting that she came back as snow which will melt and provide water for her people's crops and livestock in the hot Summer ahead.
May she rest in peace, and may the snow soothe the pain of her family and friends.
A tribute to Pfc.Lori Piestewa, Hopi Indian mother. Killed in action freeing the people of Iraq. Oh, if only tears we shed could grant our wishes on demand and resurrect the fallen dead whose blood was drawn on foreign sand Where tyrants ruled wilthout a heart suppressing every human right their rightful freedom torn apart and vanished in the desert night Your youth you gave for freedoms song your country called and you respond and though your fathers saw much wrong you forgave the past and went beyond the call of duty with soldiers pride to free oppressed you never knew and with your brothers in battle died your grieving children weep for you Let it be known though you are gone you're not forgotten nor will ever be in every sunset and rising dawn you are branded in our memory And now with pride we hold you dear as tyrants in the desert fall Lori, can you hear the millions cheer where many gave much, and you gave all.
God Bless.
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