National Museum of the American Indian hosts Native veterans for Memorial Day

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National Museum of the American Indian: Why We Serve: Native Americans in the United States Armed Forces

Monday, May 19, 2025

Indianz.Com

The National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) is recognizing the contributions of Native veterans for an event on Memorial Day.

The event, titled Service and Sacrifice, takes place on May 26 at the NMAI in Washington, D.C. Attendees will hear from Native veterans, make prayer ties to remember loved ones and attend a wreath-laying ceremony at the National Native American Veterans Memorial, which opened in November 2020 and was dedicated in November 2022.

Visitors can also view Why We Serve: Native Americans in the United States Armed Forces. The ongoing exhibition shares the stories of American Indian, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian members of the military, whose service goes back more than 250 years to the Revolutionary War.

For those who aren’t able to attend in person, NMAI plans to host a livestream on the day of the event at AmericanIndian.si.edu/livestream.

American Indians and Alaska Natives enlist in the U.S. military at the highest rates per capita of any group in the nation. Despite their service, the Department of Defense has canceled National Native American Heritage Month following orders by President Donald Trump to eliminate so-called diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.

National Native American Veterans Memorial

A wreath created by Shayai Lucero (Pueblo of Acoma/Pueblo of Laguna), owner of Earth & Sky Floral Designs in New Mexico, lays at the National Native American Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., following a Veterans Day event in November 2024. Photo by Indianz.Com (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)