Speakers and visitors gathered to recognize and honor the military service of Native Americans on Veterans Day in 2023.

This short film tells emotionally resonant stories from Native American veterans from across the United States Armed Forces with diverse viewpoints and personal testimony about their service.

U.S. Navy names a ship after Alaska Native veteran Solomon Atkinson, one of the first Navy SEALs.

A look back at the long-awaited dedication ceremony and celebration weekend of the National Native American Veterans Memorial on the National Mall.

The Kiowa Women Warriors are the first all-women Kiowa color guard-and the first to wear feathered war bonnets, a tradition long reserved for men.

This memorial to Native heroes recognizes for the first time on a national scale the enduring and distinguished service of Native Americans in every branch of the US military.

On Veterans Day, 2022, more than 1,500 Native veterans representing more than 120 Native Nations gathered in Washington, DC, to process from the National Museum of the American Indian to the National Mall.

The dedication ceremony featured remarks from Native veterans, including memorial designer and veteran Harvey Pratt, representatives from the US Armed Forces, Smithsonian leadership, and US government officials.

Cherokee veteran Dwight Birdwell honored for heroic actions in Vietnam War.

Sičáŋǧu Lakota artist Dyani White Hawk’s screen prints honor the strength, leadership and care-taking roles of Native women and veterans.

This photo captures the long shadow of a visitor at the National Native American Veterans Memorial. Open to the public since November 2020, the memorial invites all to reflect and remember.

Meet some Native veterans who continue to serve and protect their communities long after their war is over.

Emil Her Many Horses, an Oglala Lakota artist and NMAI curator, creates an award-winning work to honor those who served in the Vietnam War.

Emil Her Many Horses (Oglala Lakota), museum curator and historian, highlights objects in the museum's collection that were created to honor the American flag.

Mitchelene BigMan founded Native American Women Warriors (NAWW), recognized as the United States' first organized all-female Native color guard.

Alexandra Harris discusses identity and the warrior stereotype of Native people serving in the military, as well as actual—and remarkable—traditions of peace and war within American Indian communities.

A video marks the completion of the National Native American Veterans Memorial and acknowledge the service and sacrifice of Native veterans and their families.

Remarkable history of Native American men and women in the United States military

Co-authors of the book "Why We Serve: Native Americans in the United States Armed Forces" discuss the generations of Native Americans who have served in the armed forces of the United States since the American Revolution.

Kiowa tribal member Dennis Zotigh pays respect to the veterans who served during the Korean conflict, and especially to the three Kiowa soldiers who gave their lives there.

Chief Lakota talks about the women in her family who have inspired her and the people for whom she serves.

Twentieth-century American Indian warriors and heroes, known as "code talkers," significantly aided victories of the United States and its allies.

On the fifteenth anniversary of the opening of the National Museum of the American Indian, the museum celebrates the groundbreaking of the National Native American Veterans Memorial.

80 Native delegates take part in the official commemoration of D-Day.

The U.S. Commission of Fine Arts praised the concept as “beautiful in its physical design and symbolism,” singling out the memorial’s layered meanings and the contemplative character of its setting within the museum’s native landscape.

Captain Jefferson Keel (U.S. Army retired), Lieutenant Governor of the Chickasaw Nation and co-chairman of the National Native American Veterans Memorial Advisory Committee, talks about his experiences in the U.S. military.

S. Joe Crittenden, deputy principal chief of the Cherokee Nation, talks about his service in the U.S. Navy in the mid-1960s and what it has meant to his life.

The story of Cora Elm (Wisconsin Oneida) and Edith Anderson (Grand River Mohawk), veterans of the Nurse Corps of the Army Medical Department in France during 1918.

The project that will produce the National Native American Veterans Memorial has another component, a joint effort with the Library of Congress, to collect oral histories and historical material.

The idea that individuals should be remembered and acknowledged—for our humanity as much as for theirs—is at the heart of every memorial.

Charles Shay (Penobscot) performs a smudging ceremony at the annual D-Day observances in Normandy, France, in honor of the 175 American Indians who landed that day.

Ernest Childers (Muscogee Creek) became the first American Indian to win the Congressional Medal of Honor in World War II.

William Pollock (Pawnee) served in the "Rough Riders" of the Spanish–American War under Lt. Col. Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt.

Designers shared their concept drawings for the memorial and the ideas and experiences that shaped them.

The retired Specialist talks about his experiences as a Native Hawaiian in the U.S. military and his belief in the importance of national service.

Master Sergeant and Lipan Apache War Chief Chuck Boers (U.S. Army retired) talks about his experiences as a Native American in the U.S. military and the traditions that inspired his service.

The Battle of Kingsbridge was a turning point in the struggle of the Hudson River Indians to preserve their rights amidst a flood of European settlement.

Cross-country meetings with American Indian veterans have clarified the vision for the National Native American Veterans Memorial.

The discussion focuses on Poolaw’s compelling and insightful images of generations of Native servicemen during the wars in Europe, Korea, and Vietnam.

The story of the Tuscarora Company, which played a major role in defending its post against an attack led by top generals of the Confederacy in the American Civil War.

American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian servicemen and -women continue to believe in a nation that hasn't always believed in them.

A one day symposium commemorates the sesquicentennial of the Sand Creek Massacre - a tragedy that occurred on November 29,1864.

The role of Six Nations women in the War of 1812

The American Civil War service of Black Beaver [Suck-tum-mah-kway], Delaware

The first Oneida to graduate from medical school fought two wars, one for better health for his people, the other in the final offensive of World War I.

The great Kiowa photographer documented the daily life of his people and his family, and also their strong martial tradition.

The shocking massacre of innocent Cheyenne and Arapaho people inspires a Denver art exhibit by the descendants of the victims.

An exhibition tells the remarkable story of soldiers from more than a dozen tribes who used their Native languages in service to the US. military in WWI and WWII.