Today, November 11, 2020, marks Veterans Day, honoring all those who have served in the U.S. military. Native American people are the highest per capita minority in the United States military service. Long before they were officially recognized as U.S. citizens in 1924, Native Americans were answering the call to serve and protect the United States of America. Many have given their lives. Their families also have struggled and sacrificed in support.
Artwork donated in 2010 to Dorothy Ramon Learning Center by Gerald Clarke Jr. of Cahuilla Reservation, honoring Native American military veterans.
1943 Memory: Finding Native Pride in Resilience
Many Native Americans joined or were drafted into the U.S. military service in World War II, and many died and did not return home. Alvino Siva (Cahuilla) shared memories in 1999 (1) of how he was an angry young man who began using his fists to fight and lash out against the racism and other problems he experienced growing up in Palm Springs. Then he was drafted into the U.S. Army at age 20.
Alvino Siva saw combat in World War II in the 1940s while stationed in the Marshall Islands in the Pacific. He also served in the Korean conflict. (Photo provided courtesy of Alvino Siva in 1999)
“I went in April ‘43. When we were accepted into the service in Los Angeles, there must have been about 5,000 of us. There was one huge auditorium … and the major was speaking to us.”
The major said that some men in the room would die, and so it was important for them all to fill out their insurance papers correctly.
So, Alvino Siva remembered, the major said, ‘When I ask you these questions, I want you to be honest with me.’
“And the first question he asked was, ‘Let me see the hands of people who can’t read or write.’
“And you should have seen the hands that came up. … These were white people that were not able to read or write. And I could read and write.
“Then he says again, ‘Let me see the hands of people who only went to third grade,’ and again, you should see the hands. And these were all white.
“And I kind of began to sit a little taller in my chair, because here I am, an Indian, and I can read and write. And I always … looked up at these white people, by thinking they were better than me, and here I am sitting above them now.
“So this is when I got into my head that when I got into the service, I was going to get as high as I could.”
Within five years, at age 25, Alvino Siva was one of the Army’s youngest master sergeants. He remembered that they called him the Kid Sarge.
NOTES: 1. Pat Murkland, “1943, Palm Springs: Greetings to Alvino Siva,” The Press-Enterprise, Sunday, October 24, 1999, p. 8 of a special section, “Family Album, Legacies from Southern California,” Part 3.
Honoring Native American Veterans
Many people brought their own personal photos and memories to share at Dorothy Ramon Learning Center’s 2010 Dragonfly Gala, when the Learning Center honored all Native American military veterans with the Dragonfly Award for their soaring achievements, sacrifices, and service.
San Manuel Reservation Tribal Color Guard honoring Native American military veterans at Dorothy Ramon Learning Center’s 2010 Dragonfly Gala. (Carlos Puma Photo)
Many memories of families’ support and sacrifice were shared in a tribute to Soboba Reservation’s military veterans at Dorothy Ramon Learning Center’s 2010 Dragonfly Gala. (Carlos Puma Photo)
A National Tribute
While Morongo and other reservations have monuments honoring tribal military veterans, there is no national memorial. At the 2010 Gala, Dorothy Ramon Learning Center displayed plans for what will be the first memorial at a national cemetery, Riverside, honoring Indigenous people in the military. The memorial is being paid for with funds raised by the Riverside National Cemetery Support Committee.
Ten years later, on California Native American Day in September 2020, came the groundbreaking ceremony. Angelo Schunke of Morongo Reservation, a U.S. Navy veteran who also serves as a Dorothy Ramon Learning Center board member, participated in the ceremony and shared this video (by San Manuel Reservation) with News from Dorothy Ramon Learning Center:
Thank you!
Thank you on Veterans Day 2020 to all U.S. military veterans and their families.
And thank you to you all for your support of News from Dorothy Ramon Learning Center! We welcome your ideas and contributions: EMAIL.
Pat Murkland, Editor. Nov. 11, 2020.
Dorothy Ramon Learning Center is a 501(c)3 nonprofit that saves and shares Southern California Native American cultures, languages, history, and traditional arts. Join us at dorothyramon.org and Dorothy Ramon Learning Center on Facebook.