LAWRENCE, Kan. – Native Americans have the highest percentage of any people who have served in the various branches of the U.S. military.
Warriors of both sexes served proudly and returned to their homelands and continued to serve within their communities. This sense of service prompted veterans attending Haskell Indian Nations University to form the Haskell Warrior Society.
“We don’t have an ROTC (Reserve Officer Training Corps) here, so we thought if we had a veterans group that would suffice to appear as a color guard at various school functions,” Phil Tracy said, as Veterans Day approached.
Gil Hood, a member of the society remembered how it began. “Last year they had a Memorial Day gathering. Some of the questions we were asked is why weren’t there any students in the color guard. We got to talking and we talked about it and talked about it and that was all we did then.”
In January, the group got together with instructor Dan Wildcat to turn the idea into a reality. The group organized and went before the Student Senate and became the official Haskell Warrior Society.
In the past, veterans who worked at Haskell performed the duties of the color guard. When the Warrior Society formed, they didn’t want to shut out the men and women who had been a part of Haskell celebrations for years, so they opened the society to students, staff and alumni.
“We picked the Haskell Warrior Society as a name because we are a veterans organization, but we are also carrying on a tradition that started through many veterans who came through here,” Joseph Hunter explained.
“They have always contributed to Haskell one way or the other. This is a student based organization … but we wanted to include the staff, they have had an organization all these years.”
They didn’t want to forget the efforts of Vera Loretto, a female veteran, either. “She has been a big part of the color guard and I want to make sure her contributions are acknowledged,” Hunter said.
The Warrior Society is trying to get a satellite office of the Veterans Department at the university. Its members would like to make sure veterans have a place to go for help.
Dan Wildcat is working to get scholarships for veterans attending Haskell.
“I get the feeling that there is a growing awareness and acknowledgment that there are a new generation of veterans going back to their communities. There is a concern that these younger veterans not be forgotten,” he said.
Wildcat added that Native American veterans are statistically more inclined to return to their home communities after military service and continue in some form of service to their communities. For him, honoring all veterans is unquestionable, he said he feels communities need to show their appreciation by acknowledging veterans who continue to serve after they return home.
“That really tells us something, an older tradition about what it means to be a warrior. You weren’t just a warrior, but you wanted to serve your community. I am really proud of these guys. This is the first time that we have really had a students’ veterans organization. These guys are earning a reputation, they’re good,” Wildcat continued. “I don’t think that we should forget their service.”
Society members say they will be proud to appear as the color guard at events sponsored by Haskell. They said they believe they carry on a tradition that started before World War I, when Cavalry troops drilled in what is now the area of the Haskell Stadium.