Road trip! (fb)

Just a reminder that the Indian Museum will be closed Saturday, May 24-Monday, May 26 for the Memorial Day holiday weekend. Please join us in honoring the memory of all those who have fallen in service to our nation. We will be back to our regular hours next week, Tuesday-Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. "American Indians and Alaska Natives serve in the Armed Forces at five times the national average and have served with distinction in every major conflict for over 200 years. Considering the population of the U.S. is approximately 1.4 percent Native and the military is 1.7 percent Native (not including those that did not disclose their identity), Native people have the highest per-capita involvement of any population to serve in the U.S. military. They also have a higher concentration of women servicemembers than all other groups. Nearly 20 percent of American Indians and Alaska Natives servicemembers were women, while 15.6 percent of all other servicemembers were women. During World War I, 3,000 to 6,000 American Indians enlisted and another 6,500 were drafted. About two-thirds served in the infantry, winning widespread praise for bravery and achievement. But the cost was high: About five percent of American Indian combat soldiers were killed, compared to one percent of American forces overall." Read more about Native military service from the National Indian Council on Aging, Inc. at https://www.nicoa.org/american-indian-veterans-have-highest-record-of-military-service. (fb)