Veteran’s Corner

Jason Hicks | Commander United Patriotic bodies
Fargo Memorial Honor Guard

As you read this today, I will be in the wilds of ND. Newtown, home of the old scout cemetery for a dedication. The historical connection to the three affiliated tribes and the US Army go back to the days long before ND even became a state.
The Three affiliated tribes are comprised of the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara nations. Long time allies of the US Government, many young men volunteered to serve as scouts for the US Army. Understand at the time, there were few maps for this “uncharted territory” so who better than Natives to show the way, plus many of the “hostile” tribes were long time enemies of this group.
One of the most “famous” of all Indian Scouts was a man named Bloody Knife. There are documents that indicate General G A Custer favored him. It is said he even tried to warn Custer of the many Indians at little big horn. As history remembers Custer split his command into three different groups. Bloody Knife happened to be with Major Marcus Reno that fateful day in US Army History. He was killed in action, shot in the head while standing near Reno.
So we as the Fargo Memorial Honor Guard made the trip to Newtown to show solidarity to our brothers in arms.
Did you know that Native Americans serve in the Armed forces at the highest rate per capita of any ethnic group. So it is extremely important to us as Veterans to recognize and celebrate them.
During our initial planning of our building project, we had hoped to secure a small area specifically for Native Veterans to conduct rituals associated with death per that tribes traditions. A practice that no other National Cemetery allows, but we thought it was only fitting. And you know where we received resistance? Politicians, one ND Representative who is affiliated with the cemetery claimed there wasn’t enough data to make an informed decision regarding a specific set area dedicated for Natives and their rituals. Well that made me laugh, here we are a private group with private monies, ZERO tax payer funds being told there wasn’t enough data. Please refer to the sheer numbers of natives that serve, that may be a number to look at.
One thing that many elected officials will never understand, as warriors we hold value in tradition, duty and honor. We know the score, we know the numbers and we know ourselves and doing what is right is a no brainer.