Native American Women Take Pride in Their Military Service

Native American women, like their male counterparts, share a proud tradition of military service.

During the Revolutionary War, Tyonajanegan, an Oneida, fought on the side of the United States with her husband during the Battle of Oriskany, Aug. 6, 1777, in New York. She died in 1824 at the age of 84.

The first active duty Native American women were four Sioux nuns, serving as Army nurses during the Spanish-American War, in 1898. One of them died in Cuba from an illness and was buried with military honors.

During World War I, 14 Native American women were in the Army Nurse Corps.

Charlotte Edith Anderson Monture, a Mohawk from Ontario, Canada, graduated from nursing school in New York in 1914 and found work there. In April 1917, when the United States entered the war, she volunteered for the Army Nurse Corps.

In February 1918, she sailed to France where she treated wounded soldiers in the hospital and on the battlefield. After the war, she moved back to her reservation in Canada and continued her nursing practice there. In April 1996, she died at age 106.

About 800 Native American women served in uniform during World War II. Thousands of others who were civilians worked in factories on the home front producing arms for the war effort.

Marge Pascale, an Ojibwe, joined the Women's Auxiliary Air Corps, or WAAC, in 1943. "One thing about the service, you get two pair of shoes and you get a bed and you get to eat," she said, having experienced poverty.

Margie Williams, a Lakota Sioux, said during World War II, "It is with much pride that the Indian woman dons the uniform of her country to aid in settling the turmoil."

Ola Rexroat, an Oglala-Lakota, was the only Native American woman to serve in the Women Airforce Service Pilots during World War II. She flew AT-6 and PT-19 airplanes and towed targets for aerial gunners.

Following the war, Rexroat became an air traffic controller for the newly formed Air Force, making it a career. She also saw service during the Korean War.

Marine Corps Pvt. Minnie Spotted-Wolf enlisted in July 1943, becoming the first female Native American to join that service.

In 1980, 60 Native American women were serving in the Alaska National Guard as Eskimo Scouts, patrolling the west coast of Alaska.

Terri Ann Hagen, an Army National Guard medic, was killed in 1994 while fighting a fire on Storm King Mountain in Colorado.

Many Native American women served in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan. Army Spc. Lori Piestewa, a Hopi, was killed in Iraq, March 23, 2003, when her convoy was ambushed. She was the first Native American female soldier killed in action on foreign soil.

Squaw Peak, near Phoenix, Arizona, was renamed Piestewa Peak in her honor.

Pfc. Jennifer Ruth Knowshisgun, an intelligence analyst at the 91st Engineer Battalion, 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, from the northern Cheyenne and Crow Nations, said that her two years in the Army has helped her to develop leadership skills.

"The Army has given me more responsibilities," said Knowshisgun, speaking at Fort Hood, Texas, now named Fort Cavazos, Nov. 20, 2015. "I'm still a private, but I've gotten the chance to help out by getting the new soldiers situated into our unit."

Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Trinity Sells, carried a protection arrow passed down from her ancestors during a National Native American Heritage Month ceremony onboard the aircraft carrier USS George Washington, at Newport News, Virginia, Nov. 14, 2018. The arrow is said to offer protection from evil spirits entering their soul or household.

"I take pride in being an American Indian sailor," said Sells. "I will continue my traditional way of life with more determination because living isn't enough for my heritage to survive. It is my time to teach the Navy about the Navajo tribe and its people."