"Honoring our military men and women - our warriors and protectors - goes without saying on most American Indian reservations. There are few tribes that don't have some kind of Veterans Day celebration, usually including a powwow or ceremony.
Honoring our military is part of Indian culture. But that part of the culture can carry with it emotional scars of war. Death walked beside these soldiers day after day. I know, I saw that in the eyes of my brother, Glen, who fought in Vietnam. He was wounded and returned home, but the war never left his spirit.
In my conversation Tuesday with Elliott Rhodes, a Lakota veteran from the Standing Rock Indian Reservation at Fort Yates, N.D., I knew that he, too, felt the ghosts of war follow him. “I can't forget,” he said. “I can't get rid of it (the Vietnam War).”
His classmates from Standing Rock, his buddies and fellow soldiers killed in that faraway land, left a mark on his soul."
Get the Story:Dorreen Yellow Bird: N.D. veteran remains haunted by ghosts of war (The Grand Forks Herald 1/7)
pwpwd More Dorreen Yellow Bird:
Yellow Bird: Reservation center helps those in need (11/5)
Yellow Bird: Put an end to 'Fighting Sioux' nick (10/31)
Yellow Bird: Generosity of Shakopee Tribe (10/24)
Yellow Bird: Foreign journalists shared cultural gifts (10/22)
Yellow Bird: Domestic violence happens every day (10/15)
Yellow Bird: Indian adoptees find their way home (10/10)
Yellow Bird: The BIA and its broken promises (10/8)
Yellow Bird: Halloween marks coming of winter (10/3)
Yellow Bird: Diabetes too common among Indians (10/1)
Yellow Bird: No manual for learning Indian culture (9/26)
Yellow Bird: Exploring the Dahlen esker (9/24)
Yellow Bird: Keeping the community spirit alive (9/19)
Yellow Bird: A short but sweet wild fruit season (9/17)
Yellow Bird: Crying out for better role models (9/12)
Yellow Bird: Sharing culture brings understanding (9/10)
Yellow Bird: Indians don't get 'free ride' at UND (9/5)
Yellow Bird: North Dakota not the next Tornado Alley (8/29)
Yellow Bird: Time for smoke-free tribal casinos (8/27)
Yellow Bird: Elvis Presley still the king of rock'n'roll (8/20)
Yellow Bird: Inside and outside the Sundance circle (8/15)
Yellow Bird: Abuse of Indians reaches back in history (8/13)
Yellow Bird: Preparing for the ritual of the Sundance (07/25)
Yellow Bird: Re-examining tribal governments (7/23)
Yellow Bird: Chippewa man leaves strong legacy (7/18)
Yellow Bird: Seeing history through modern eyes (7/16)
Yellow Bird: Following the Lewis and Clark trail (7/11)
Yellow Bird: Be careful shopping in the wild (7/9)
Yellow Bird: Indians were foreigners in own land (7/5)
Yellow Bird: Yellowstone River needs protection (7/2)
Yellow Bird: Change comes but we can't forget past (6/25)
Yellow Bird: Festival days and prairie nights (6/20)
Yellow Bird: The case of the $54 million pants (6/18)
Yellow Bird: Monarch butterfly a special creature (6/13)
Yellow Bird: Graduates inspire with their lives (6/6)
Yellow Bird: Meth walks our reservations (6/4)
Yellow Bird: Commercials influence our lives (5/30)
Yellow Bird: Remember heroes on Memorial Day (5/28)
Yellow Bird: Blogger lacks facts about Indian life (5/22)
Yellow Bird: Indian culture changes in subtle ways (5/16)
Yellow Bird: Wolf knew it was ready to cross over (5/14)
Yellow Bird: Woman sees world with understanding (5/9)
Yellow Bird: Indian women and spiritual leadership (5/7)
Yellow Bird: Tighten gun control laws in North Dakota (5/3)
Yellow Bird: Easy ways at becoming more green (4/30)
Yellow Bird: School shootings just don't 'happen' (4/18)
Yellow Bird: The Red River Valley Flood of 1997 (4/9)
Yellow Bird: Women of color share their views (4/5)
Yellow Bird: UND powwow needs your support (4/2)
Yellow Bird: UTTC begs for funding year after year (3/26)
Yellow Bird: Even more about colon cancer screening (3/21)
Yellow Bird: Remembering my aunt/mother, Pearl (3/19)
Yellow Bird: Colon cancer screening essential (3/14)
Yellow Bird: Return land to North Dakota tribe (3/12)
Yellow Bird: Native Media Center at UND prospers (3/7)
Yellow Bird: Woody Keeble a true American hero (3/5)
Yellow Bird: Cell phone addiction affects driving (2/28)
Yellow Bird: UND has many reasons to be proud (2/26)
Yellow Bird: Signs of spring already in the air (2/21)
Yellow Bird: US automakers ignore innovation (2/19)
Yellow Bird: Tribes should snuff out smoking too (2/14)
Yellow Bird: On being Black or Indian 'enough' (2/9)
Yellow Bird: Braving the cold North Dakota winter (2/5)
Yellow Bird: Chokecherry for North Dakota state fruit (1/31)
Yellow Bird: Name-calling and bullying in schools (1/24)
Yellow Bird: Climate change impossible to ignore (1/17)
Yellow Bird: Tribes can help Indian doctors program (1/15)
Yellow Bird: Tribes have much to offer North Dakota (1/11)
Yellow Bird: Catching a ride on the Dakota wind (1/2)
