Photo By Douglas Stutz | Donna Morrison of the Haida tribe displays a sea otter head band during her talk at...... read more read more
By Douglas H Stutz, Naval Hospital Bremerton Public Affairs -- Naval Hospital Bremerton recognized American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage for the month of November in a ceremony on Nov. 29, 2016, that included keynote speakers from the Tlingit and Haida tribes of Alaska.
This year's theme, "Serving our Nations," represents American Indians and Alaska Natives, both civilian and military, as U.S. citizens and citizens of their tribes.
NHB’s Diversity Council noted that the annual National American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage Month acknowledges and appreciates Native American varied cultures and annually informs staff and beneficiaries of the significant heritage, history, and traditions of American Indian and Alaska Native peoples.
“We are a diverse Navy, a diverse culture and a diverse nation. We appreciate our special guest speakers taking the time to share a part of history,” said Capt. Kim Zuzelski, Naval Hospital Bremerton Executive Officer.
There are approximately 9,000 Sailors and 2,000 civilians of American Indian and Alaska Native heritage serving in the Navy. According to the U.S. Department of Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs, 565 federally-recognized American Indian tribes and Alaska Natives reside in the United States, composed of nearly 4.5 million American Indians and Alaska Natives, or 1.5 percent of the nation's population.
Donna Morrison of the Haida tribe served 33 years as a federal employee in civil service, with a special affinity for the Navy, having spent 28 of those years working with mostly Navy families.
Morrison grew up on Prince of Wales Island, the fourth largest island of the U.S. in what’s referred to as the Alaska Panhandle. She shared leaving home at age 14 as mandated by the Bureau of Indian Affairs to continue schooling in Ketchikan, then returning in the summer to work at a local cannery to fund school supplies and clothing.
One cross-cultural characteristic that Morrison cited was the common thread of athletics that her Alaska native tribal roots fostered as much as that of the immigrants to their homelands. A member of the Haida tribe was one of the early National Football League (NFL) pioneers in the 1920s.
“George Nix was Alaska’s first NFL player. He was built like a Sitka spruce tree and came from a village on Long Island, south of Prince of Wales Island. After being sent to Oregon for school and being noticed as an athlete, he went to Kansas where his football career really started. He played against college teams and other professionals and for the Buffalo Rangers in the NFL,” related Morrison, also noting that Nix never was one to brag about his accomplishments.
“He was known to be a kind of a stoic guy,” added Morrison.
Dr. Edward K. Thomas, President Emeritus, Tlingit Haida Central Council, a federally recognized tribe in southeast Alaska with approximately 28,000 residents, expounded on the notion of stoicism.
The archipelago of islands extending from Alaska towards the continental U.S. has long been the ancestral home of the Tlingit people. There is evidence of early civilization dating back to 10,000 B.C.
“Native Americans welcomed early immigrants to their homelands. Thanksgiving celebrated the positive relationship Indians had with early migrants from Europe. Southeast Alaska natives had similar relations with early Russian traders. Our people welcomed them. They wanted furs and our people liked metal objects and clothing,” said Thomas.
By the time of Manifest Destiny, a phrase coined in 1845 for the concept used to justify U.S. territorial expansion, non-natives were conquering tribes to settle and develop land.
“In 1867, the U.S. purchased the Russian fort in Sitka for $7.2 million. The U.S. interpreted this as buying all of Alaska while native understood that it was just the Sitka fort they purchased. The U.S. asserted a firm hand to make their claim. Alaska native lands were taken through declarations and acts of Congress. Tribal leaders resented this but were determined to settle differences diplomatically. There were skirmishes, but no full-blown wars,” Thomas said.
Twenty years later the Dawes Act of 1887 intended to end the status of native tribes and absorb them all into ‘American’ life. This meant to abandon traditional ways of life. The policy was disastrous for natives and finally reversed in 1934.
Additionally prior to the 1924 Citizenship Act, Native Americans were not considered U.S. citizens and could not vote, hold public office, participate in public meetings, own land individually or attend public schools.
There were years of litigation, proceedings and hearings to establish rights and recognition. A resolution passed by the Tlingits-Haisas to sue the U.S. over land took 39 years for them to win, which helped bring about the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act in 1971, followed by the Self-Determination act of 1975. There have been pros and cons, deliberation and discussion all along the way.
Thomas attested that there are still challenges with weak rural economies, high native dropout rates, and loss of native languages and identity. Yet they will continue to press to preserve their Native American culture and advocate for Native American rights.
“I appreciate your presence here and your willingness to understand the original people of the United States,” Thomas said. “I especially thank you for your service to our country. These are troublesome times and we are so very fortunate to have quality people ‘on the wall’ defending our country.”
| Date Taken: | 11.29.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 11.30.2016 17:35 |
| Story ID: | 216056 |
| Location: | BREMERTON , WA, US |
| Web Views: | 104 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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