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NATIVE VETERANS Spirit Hawk ^i^ |
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American Indians have participated with distinction in United States military action for more than 200 years. Many tribes were involved in the War of 1812, and Indians fought on both sides as auxiliary troops in the Civil War. In 1866, the U.S. Army established its Indian Scouts to exploit what they called the Indians skill in scouting the enemy. Teddy Roosevelt’s Rough Riders recruited our ancestors and they saw action in the Spanish-American War in 1898. It is estimated that 12,000 American Indians served in the United States military in WWI. Yet The Snyder Act did not give American Indians citizenship until 1924. More than 44,000 Native Americans joined the armed services as a result of World War II. According to the Selective Service in 1942, at least 99% of all eligible Indians, healthy males, ages 21 to 44, had registered for the draft. War Department officials maintained that if the entire population had enlisted in the same proportions as the Indians, the response would have rendered Selective Service unnecessary. One third of all able-bodied Indian men from 18 to 50 years of age took part in WWII. In some tribes, the percentage of men in the military reached as high as 70 percent. Several hundred Indian women served in the WACS, WAVES, and Army Nurse Corps. Our participation continued to be so right on through Korea, Vietnam, the first Gulf War and now the current one. How did the government thank us, and all Vets, in general? The U.S. House of Representatives approved billions of dollars in cuts to veterans’ programs —on the same day it unanimously passed a resolution of "unequivocal support" for the nation’s troops overseas. Proposed by President Bush as part of his budget plan, the reductions—estimated at $28 billion—would erode health-care benefits already stretched by other budget shortfalls, raise costs, and decrease veterans’ access to medical care. THIS IS THE FIRST TIME THAT ANY MODERN PRESIDENT HAS CALLED FOR A DECREASE DURING WAR TIME ! According to Ashley Decker, writing in an article at http://Commondreams.org , the cuts could cause approximately half of all veterans to lose their only source of medical care and might prevent them from receiving their disability pensions! Also the Department of Veterans Affairs estimates that on any given night, there are 275,000 homeless veterans and that over the year, more than 500,000 veterans experience periods of homelessness. The Republicans have had partial or total control of the federal government since 1994, holding the House of Representatives the entire time, the Senate all but a year and a half and the White House since 2001. During this time, the federal government had huge budget surpluses (on paper). This means that they could've easily gotten any programs to help veterans and soldiers passed. They could've increased funding for veteran's programs and they could've improved the quality of life for active soldiers who are in harm's way. Have they done so? Clearly not! Congress has also reached into the pockets of our Nation's service-connected veterans, including combat disabled veterans, and robbed them and their survivors of a portion of their compensation. Ninety percent of VA's mandatory spending is from cash payments to service-connected disabled veterans, low-income wartime veterans, and their survivors," said Edward Heath, National Commander of the Disabled American Veterans. House Democrat Lane Evans (IL) explained why we got these cuts: "These cuts must be made, so that our government can afford to provide a tax cut which will benefit only the wealthiest Americans, many of who never served in the military." This is utterly humiliating to every veteran and every active duty service person. As a disabled vet, and a father of active service children, I can tell you that it is a slap in our faces. These cuts hit Native American Veterans particularly hard, due to the facts of inadequate housing, health care, and difficulty accessing jobs. Many come home with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and find themselves left out in the cold with no or inadequate, mental health facilities. Imagine coming home from war, where you served your country with honor, to find you are homeless, wounded of body, or mind, or both, the Government that you served turns it's back on you, and you can't even get adequate health care or work. Speaking from my own experience as a disabled Aniyuhnwiya Vietnam Veteran, I'll tell you how it has affected me. When I first was discharged I had one heck of a time just finding a job. No one wanted to hire a Vietnam Vet back then. I was exposed to Agent Pink ( Pure Dioxin as compared to Agent Orange, Dioxin mixed with jet fuel). After a short time I began to get sick with one thing after another. I now have Hashimoto's Thyroidism (A rare thyroid disease that is directly linked to dioxin exsposure), I have left ventricle hypertrophy (left side of heart is enlarged), I have Mytral Valve prolapse, Vascular disease, had a massive heart attack and a triple bypass at 51 yrs old which re-clogged one year later due to the thyroid problem, I have emphesema and severe COPD with recurring bouts of pneumonia and pleurisy, I have hyperinsulism ( dioxin messed up my pancreas and it puts out too much insulin) I have digestive problems and muscle, bone and nerve damage. The VA admits I have the problems, admits that I proved where, when and how I was exposed, even admitted that I showed proof that dioxin could cause the problems. So why am I getting a Non-Service Related Pension instead of a Service related with twice the benefits? Because the VA only recognizes Cancer and Diabetis II. Ohhhh convenient for them! I go to a VA Hospital a bit over 100 miles away. As I can not drive anymore, the VA Van Service would take me. They use to run 7 days a week. Then they cut it down to 3, then only in the mornings on those 3 days, and now, only if your appointment falls between 10am and 1pm on those three days. Makes trying to get an appointment at the VA Hospital real interesting! I need Plavix since another bypass won't work and it's too dangerous to put in stints. The VA won't supply it because I don't have stints, even though my Cardiologist has insisted that, because I can't have stints, is the very reason that I need Plavix. Plavix costs $5.00 per pill. That is why the VA doesn't want to supply it. The VA ignored my heart problems and it almost killed me. They still make light of them even though they have my medical records from the leading Heart Hospital in the country. That is just part of my story and there are many many more with worse. There are things that can be done people. We must return to the ways of healing ceremonies for those returning from war to heal the minds and souls of our warriors. As to work, we as Native Vets can bring a rich diversity of cultural experiences and sensitivities to any organization; a commitment to integrating the needs of family with the demands of work; a holistic concept of the relationship between society and the natural elements that support it. Employers must learn that Native Vets bring these and many other valuable life experiences and skills to the work place. We must demand that our Government increase, not decrease, VA funding. We must demand that programs are put into place to deal with all issues faced by our veterans. If the current government refuses to do so... THEN THEY NEED TO BE REPLACED WITH THOSE WHO WILL. There is a saying going around... "Enjoy freedom? Thank a vet!" Well people, just so you know, you do not thank a vet by turning your back to them and allowing the government that sent them to war to do so too. So says, Spirit Hawk ^i^ |
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