The Warrior Tradition

The Warrior Tradition, tells the astonishing, heartbreaking, inspiring, and largely-untold story of Native Americans in the United States military. Why would Indian men and women put their lives on the line for the very government that took their homelands? The film relates the stories of Native American warriors from their own points of view – stories of service and pain, of courage and fear.

This animated short pays tribute to Minnie Hollow Wood, one of the many women warriors who fought courageously alongside male warriors in major battles such as the Battle of Little Bighorn in 1876. Minnie was the first Lakhota woman warrior to be honored with a sacred War Bonnet, a symbolic give-away, representing one of the highest honors of war, peace and valor.

Native American veterans speak about the experiences they’ve had interacting with non-Native Americans around the world, how stereotypes shaped the worlds view of them and how diverse their culture is.

Donavon Barney is a Iraq War Marine Corps veteran who embraces his traditional Navajo beliefs and connection to culture, but also understands that his people are in desperate need of technological development and the transition of accessing technology. Faced with crumbling infrastructure on the Navajo reservation, Barney finds ways to advocate for his people through a career in Cybersecurity.

The Warrior Tradition, tells the astonishing, heartbreaking, inspiring, and largely-untold story of Native Americans in the United States military. Why would Indian men and women put their lives on the line for the very government that took their homelands? The film relates the stories of Native American warriors from their own points of view – stories of service and pain, of courage and fear.

Distinguished Onöndowa’ga:’ (Seneca) artist and Vietnam veteran, Carson Waterman, says art saved his life. First, when he was reassigned as a ‘combat artist’ after serving seven months in the 4th Infantry and later, when he returned home, art provided him a respite from the wartime trauma he carried.

Veterans share their experiences with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and how their culture and traditions have helped them. These traditions help bring back the veterans humanity and reintegrate them back into society through ceremonies that honor and purify.

Gus Palmer wanted nothing more in his life, than to participate in the warrior tradition his tribe honored. His forebears came from a long line of warriors, that protected the Kiowa tribe on the migration across the southern plains. However, fate and a medical condition would disqualify him from going to Vietnam. Disqualified Warriors is a story about loss and redemption in the warrior tradition.

Soldiers have had to question who they are while serving in the United States military. Struggling with the irony of going into combat in other countries against those that look like them. They have had to either put aside their identity to become one with their fellow soldiers to fight or carry a dual identity of being a “proud Native American and a proud American.

Meet women warrior veterans who share their challenges and strengths within the Native American culture and the U.S. military. Hear how the attitude of society and their tribe on women serving in the military has changed.