Unbroken: Indigenous Peoples Today
Lakota Regalia Bullet Breastplate
"When the breastplate has bullets on it it represents that the person wearing it is a veteran. So they've been to war. They've seen all of it. And long ago, we used to put bullets on our breastplate because we actually didn't know what the bullets meant. Before that it was buffalo bone we used and then we saw them [colonizers] using bullet shells, and we thought the bullets themselves would stop the bullets being shot at us.
"There's so many reasons behind being a Native person in the [U.S.] military. The first reason is just so that a warrior can continue being a warrior.
"Now, I'll tell you stories about the Lakota and the Cheyenne. So when we battled Custer and took their unit out, it was one of the only times where the U.S. Flag was captured by an enemy military. Our tribes are the ones who actually took that flag from them, and so when you see that flag being raised in the middle of a pow wow, and there's a lot of Native Americans saying 'Hey well that's the country that killed you and massacred you' and all that stuff, well that's not just it.
"There's a lot of reasons why we carry that flag in the beginning of the pow wow. One, we captured that flag, and two, we have a lot of actual veterans who served in the U.S. military because, honestly, this world is evolving and we all have to learn to coexist. That's the only way we can continue growing and have respect for that flag at the same time.
"The true beginning of the United States is harsh, it's ugly. They didn't have the empathy that people have now. You know, Colonialism back then, Native Americans back then, no one really was truly educated about peoples' well being and being together. People have learned as long as we can acknowledge the past hurts, acknowledge what the true history is about this country, we can all move forward."
- Nick Ohitika Najin, Lakota Warrior
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