In the year before I was 12, my father told me if I was a good boy, he would take me to my Grandfather, Walter Strong Heart, so he would give me a name. Lala Walter's father was actually Jasper Horse Thief.
When Lala Walter went to enlist, his father, Jasper, was with him. So the white registrar unknowingly put down his father's name. Later documents change his name to Walter J.Strong Heart, Chante Waste.
His name was appropriate for his courageous war exploits in WWI. Even though he was mustard gassed by the Germans and lost an eye, he kept fighting until the war ended.
Even though our Oceti Sakowin were not citizens, more than 5000 volunteered to fight. And they were brave and fearless fighters. They were also the first code talkers in WW1.
Before Lala Walter gave me his father's name, Shunkmanu, Horse Thief, A Leader of Warriors who Takes the Enemies Best Horses, Lala Walter told me many stories about fighting in WW1. My father and Lekshi Ulysses Strong Heart, Lala's son, were with me.
Lala's stories were so graphic, and my young mind was so imaginative I was right there with him as he described the fighting. I could hear the machine guns rattling and see and smell the mustard gas.
Mustard Gas (bis(2-chloroethyl) sulfide) in pure liquid form is colorless, but in WWI, impure forms were used, which had a mustard color. Lala said it had a garlic smell.
At night they would go into the German trenches and kill and capture Germans. They would also do recon on what was happening behind German lines and report back. They were also runners, a dangerous job because you had to run between trenches and expose yourself to enemy fire.
One of the things he laughed about was how they would speak Lakota over radio and phone lines, and the Germans would get very frustrated because they couldn't understand. They did this from the beginning of WW 1, which later led to the Chocktaw code takers in the last days of WWI. But Lala Walter was clear, the Oceti Sakowin were the first code talkers. There is more to tell, but I will put a bookmark here.
At the same time, I did not feel any hatred or ill feelings toward the Germans, even though he had lost his left eye. When the war was over, it was over. When I asked about the Germans, he said, "They were good fighters." That was it!
To give an idea of how brave, fearless, and in front of the fighting they were, an average of 1% of the white soldiers were killed during WW1. 10% of the Oceti Sakowin who went to WW1 were killed. Even more, the Pawnees lost 13 % of thier soldiers who went to WW1.
There is much more to this story that needs to be told, and in time it will be.
Yet, despite the outstanding service Native Americans gave in WW1 ( when we were not even citizens) and in all the other US wars, what still hurts my heart, is the abject physical poverty, pain, and suffering found in many Urban and Reservation Native American and Alaskan Native communities.
At the same time, as prophesied, our Indigenous peoples are spiritually rising, despite many challenges, past and present. We are becoming stronger and more unified than ever before, and many members of our Human Family are joining us in this great spiritual awakening, everywhere, all at once.
From my perspective, we have just completed a 500-year Sun Dance, and in time, Justice will be done for all concerned. I may not see it while I am still in this physical world. Still, a new Global Civilization based on the understanding that we are One Human Family intimately related to All Life, and the Hurt of One is the Hurt of All, and the Healing, Upliftment, and Honor of One are the Healing, Upliftment, and Honor of All is being manifested!
The organizing principle of this new global civilization is Justice.
