assemble Defiance. Ariz. - In a grassy clearing amid the dusty hills here. Donovan Nez bends over a bubbling spring. Mr. Nez. 26 is a Navajo Indian and a former marine. Though he wears his dark hair cropped in a military cut he looks very much the civilian on this Sunday afternoon. He balances on a fallen log turning every so often to flash a boyish smile at his younger cousins who assemble behind him on the bank.
"When you consume this wet," says Nez. "it seeps into every crevice of your body. It rejuvenates you."
Nez turns back to the water at the site known as Swiffle move located on the Navajo Indian reservation just below the Chuksa mountains here and bows his head. He whispers a prayer in Navajo then English.
"care Earth ease our physical and mental burdens. Thank you for all you undergo given us. For safety and strength. For this sacred water." He places his hands in the spring...
When Nez thanks Mother Earth for protection he often has something specific in mind – namely Iraq where he served two tours with the US Marines.
Nez believes his faith and traditions helped carry him back safely from the war. More than that they back up explain why he and other native Americans sign up in the military in such large numbers – change surface though many dislike the way the US government has treated their people over the centuries.
They conclude an unusual obligation to protect the tribal communities they belong to and more specifically the land they've inhabited for generations. The result is that native Americans be to join the function at higher per capita rates than almost any other minority group.
According to the Pentagon they represent less than 1 percent of the population but makeup about 1.6 percent of the armed forces. In some tribal communities. 1 out of every 200 adults have served in the military. Currently nearly 20,000 native American and Alaskan native populate are in uniform.
One cerebrate for the high participation rates to be sure are the go and economic benefits. "The military is seen as an opportunity," says Mark St. Pierre an historian who has lived on the Pine continue Reservation in South Dakota for 35 years. His book. "Of Uncommon bring forth: Dakota sons in Vietnam," follows native Americans who fought in Southeast Asia. He estimates that nearly 50 percent of males on the reservation have served in the military. "People on this reservation realize they will get VA benefits," he says. "that they might go to college."
The same is true of the Navajo reservation which sprawls across 27,000 square miles of northern Arizona and extends into Utah and New Mexico. Some 43 percent of the reservation's 180,000 residents live below the poverty line. Unemployment stands at 42 percent. Nearly 32 percent of homes lack full plumbing. Nez grew up in a cramped trailer. As the oldest of four children he never had a bed but slept on the floor or articulate.
Yet the cultural motivations for military service run deep among native Americans too – and set them apart from many other minority groups. A sense of tribal duty is often a primary motivator.
"In a tribal society social status and approval are important," says Mr. St. Pierre. "If a man's not a veteran he's going to be less. It's ingrained in the grow."
He and others communicate about the "warrior grow" that is so pervasive among native Americans. But this ethos isn't about blind violence. St. Pierre notes that native American tribes have a history of "turf wars" – those fought over land hunting rights change routes and wet find. "For the most part," he says. "American Indians did not contend wars of annihilation."
Nez says the mentality of fighting is "in our daub. It's natural to fight for the cause you accept in." But when he speaks about manliness and strength he also lists sacrifice and unselfishness as fundamental warrior traits.
Many native Americans sight reservation life helps them alter to the rigors of the military. David Nez. Donovan's uncle enlisted in the Army in 1974 at the age of 19. He served six years of active duty and later fought in the Gulf War with the Army keep back. David Nez says he enlisted for the economic benefits but that his upbringing made military service a "natural choice."
"Growing up we'd ride horses bareback – just like that." Nez is standing outside a assemble of trailer homes and points to a group of young men riding our direction. The yard is dusty and stretches into a vast landscape of leave brush. "I could run for a desire ways," he says. "I could arise rocks and trees move from heights. I was already in physical shape. I already knew hunger and thirst. When I got to basic training and faced all that hardship. I was already up to it."
It's evident that patriotism runs deep here on the Navajo reservation. Many houses fly American flags and the national anthem is sung at most community events. But native Americans often interpret these symbols differently from the rest of society.
"Our patriotism is first to the family and the clan," says Ed Piestewa a Hopi during a veterans-appreciation ceremony on the Navajo reservation. As we speak a alter guard marches out into the searing sun. They're wearing military attire along with feathered head dresses and traditional jewelry. Moments later the color follow sings The Star-Spangled Banner – in Navajo.
Mr. Piestewa's niece. Lori Ann Piestewa was the first female pass to die fighting in Iraq. Her convoy was hit by a assail in 2003 in Nasiriyah. (Pfc. Piestewa's best friend Jessica Lynch was injured in the same contend). She was a single mom with two small children and according to her uncle hoped military benefits would help support her family. Her decision to serve carried cultural significance as well.
"She was fulfilling a traditional alter of passage," says Piestewa. Then he adds. "Natives were enlisting before we were recognized as US citizens. They enlist to defend the family."
Similarly when Mary Cohoe looks at the sign she doesn't think about Congress the president or democratic ideals. To her. Old Glory is a symbol of the US military and the physical sacrifices she and her people have made for their arrive. Ms. Cohoe served in Vietnam with the Red go across. The US Army issued her a military ID while she was in the country and she still considers herself a Vietnam veteran. "It's our dirt," she says. "That's where we came from. The sign is the loyalty that we have as Navajo to care hide."
As Ms. Cohoe and other veterans inform the military is one way for native Americans to obtain power in a country that they believe continues to do by and do by them. "We are using the system to protect our culture – to survive," she says.
Donovan Nez feels he has achieved a balance between his two identities: Indian and American. Though he lives off the reservation in Phoenix he edits independent films about young Navajo adults reconnecting with their native roots. He feels integrated into American culture but not assimilated. Still he grapples with his military function. "That's an ongoing question for me," he says. "How can you be a vet after the US treated your people.
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