BO
A ZETTI
RINCONBAND OF LUISENOINDIANSTRIBAL
CHAIRMAN
& AIANVMC
HONORARY
CHAIRMAN
''
Honoringservicemembers,pastandpresent,is
a traditionamongAmericanIndians.Onethat is
importantto tribesbecauseof the largenumbers
of Indianswho participatedin all of America's
foreignwars,andthe closerelationships
formed
withcomradesin armsof all races.''
UNIQUENESS OF OUR MISSION
TheRiversideNationalCemetery(RNC)is the onlyNationalCemeteryin the
countrythat hasa Memorialsand MonumentsCommitteeand wherefull scale
monuments
areallowed.It willbe a sacredplace -- a placeto recognizeandto
teachof the overtwo hundredyearsof NativeAmericans'militaryservicefor the
UnitedStatesof America.As families,friendsand dignitariesof everyraceand
creedgatherto rememberour Nation'sVeteransandto recallthe historyof U.S.
militaryservices,the Memorialwill providea quiet,peacefulplacebesidea lake
to reflecton the serviceand sacrificesof its originalwarriors,AmericanIndian
Veterans.
OUR VISION
S AR ON SAVAG
TRIBAL1st DESCENDANT
- L'ANSEBANDOF
CHIPPEWA
(OJIBWA)INDIANS,KEWEENAW
BAY
INDIANCOMMUNITY
& AIANVMC
CHAIRWOMAN
''
My grandparents
livedon an Oregonhillsideat
the endof a longdirtdriveway.In 1944,theirson
was a U.S.Armyprivate.Mothertold how my
grandparentsrecognizedhis deathwhen they
saw an Armyjeep travelup that longdriveway.
Theirson is buriedat anAmericanCemeteryin
Italy.Today,we workto establisha Memorialto
honorAmericanIndianWarriors-- Veteranslike
UncleAmbrose-- with a Memorialplannedfor
the RiversideNationalCemetery.Finally,there
will bea sacredplacefor NativeAmericanVeterans, active military and generationsof their
family membersand comradesin arms from
everywalk of life to reunion,reflect,heal and
sharetheirexperiences.
''
The vision of the AmericanIndianAlaska Native VeteransMemorial
Committee(AIANVMC)is to honorAmericanIndians'and AlaskanNatives'
militaryserviceas we recognizethe proud militaryhistoryof America'sfirst
peoples.MostAmericancitizensdo not realizethat• One of everyfour Indianmalesservesas a militaryVeteran.Indians
havethe highestrecordof servicepercapitaof any ethnicgroup;47%of tribal
leadersare militaryVeterans.
• 27 AmericanIndianmen have receivedthe CongressionalMedalof
Honor.
• AmericanIndianswerenotdraftedduringWWIsincetheywerenot citizens,so theyvolunteered.
A gratefulnationenactedlegislationto grantthemcitizenshipin 1924.
• Thefirst U.S.codetalkerswereChoctawmenservingin WWI.The 19
Choctawmen"talkingon the radio"havebeencreditedwithturningaroundthe
Germans'successfuladvancesinto Franceduringthe lastsixweeksof WWI.
• DuringWorldWarI and11,morethan44,000AmericanIndiansservedin
the military,andover40,000Indiansrelocatedfromreservations
to workin war
industries.ManyseasonedAmericanIndianmilitarymemberscontinuedservice
duringthe KoreanWar,wherean estimated10,000served.90%of the 42,000
Indianswhoservedin Vietnamwerevolunteers.
• An estimated42,000AmericanIndiansfoughtin Vietnam;90%of these
werevolunteers.
• Since the currentactionsbeganin Iraq, 42 AmericanIndianAlaska
Nativeservicemembershavediedin thatcountryand22 inAfghanistan.
OUR HISTORY
In September
of 2005,anAmericanIndiantriballeaderattendedtheunveilingof a POW/MIAMemorialat the RNC.Thistriballeader'sbrotherdiedfightingin Vietnam,so he wasveryaware therewas nofederallyrecognized
memorialto AmericanIndianVeterans,notanywherein the U.S.As he gazed
acrossthe nearbylake,he sawa rockypointextendingintothewaterandthought,"That'swhereI'd liketo seethemonumentfor mypeople."Heand
a friendapproached
the NationalCemetery
Administration,
Washington,
D. C.; by early2006,the NCA'sprovisional
letterof approvalfor thesiteanda
landscape
planwasreceivedbythe RiversideNationalCemeteryMemorials
andMonuments
Committee.
Theleaderandtwofriendsbeganfundraising,
but,unfortunately,
weresidelinedwhenillnessesovertooktwo of them- followedby a decliningnationaleconomy.Followingthe 2013deathof that
inspiredIndianleader,a newgroupof about20 passionateindividualsrenewedthe effortsto establishthe Memorialby formingtheAmericanIndian
AlaskaNativeVeteransMemorialCommittee.
DESIGN
PLANSKETCHES
MainPlazaDesign
KEY ACCOMPLISHMENTS
• Successfully
reachingoutto the Department
of VeteransAffairs'NationalCemetery
Administrationto receivewritten provisionalconfirmationthat the Memorial'ssite and
landscapeand engineeringplan can begin at the RiversideNationalCemeterywhen
constructioncostsare banked.TheAIANVMCwill also honorthe NCA'srequestthat a
perpetualmaintenance
fundfor the Memorialbe on handbeforeconstruction
begins.
• Resolutions
in supportof the NativeAmericanVeteransMemorialat theRiverside
NationalCemeteryfromthe NationalCongressofAmericanIndians(NCAI),andtheTribal
Allianceof SovereignIndianNations(TASIN).
AMERICAN
INDIAN
VETERANS
MEMORIAL
PLAZA
ViewofRegional
Statues
Through
Siteline
Notches
r-
• The Governorof the Stateof California,Governor"Jerry"Brown,recognizedthe
distinguished
and honorablerecordof NativeAmericansin militaryservice.Gov.Brown
signeda proclamation
declaringOctober,2015,as "NativeAmericanVeteransMonth."
Gov. Brownstated it is fitting to have a monumentplaced at the RiversideNational
to join himin supportingthiseffort.
Cemetery,and urgedfellowCalifornians
• AIANVMCtookthe first stepto clarifyand informcitizens,tribal nations,governmentalrepresentatives
and businesses
that the AIANVMC'sworkto erecta Memorialfor
NativeVeteransshouldnot conflictwith effortsunderwayby the Smithsonian's
National
Museumof the AmericanIndianto createan AmericanIndianVeteranmonumenton the
groundsof the Museum.The AIANVMCand representatives
from the Smithsonian's
advisorycommitteerecentlymetandwill cooperateto encouragethe completionof botha
WestCoastand an EastCoastmemorial- an actionthat will makeit possiblefor many
morecitizensof this broadcountryto accessNativeVeterans'militaryservicehistoryand
to honortheirdeeds.
• Detailedconstructionplans to facilitateconstructionof the RiversideNational
Cemetery(RNC)Memorialarecompleted.
• Thesculptorfor the majorworkto be placedat RNChascompleteda halflife size
of the bronzemonumental
statuewhichwill be renderedin twicelifesizefor the Cemetery,
"TheGift" by A. ThomasSchomberg."TheGift" representsboththe unparalleledUnited
StatesmilitaryserviceofAmericanIndiansandAlaskanNativeswhilealsosymbolizing
the
bittersweethistoryof ourCountry'soriginalpeople.
SampleDesignof RegionalSculptures
Honoring
Each
American
IndianBIARegion
ONEOF12 SCU
LPTUR
ES
HONOR
INGEACH
AMER
ICANINOIAN
BIA REG
ION
FUTURE PLANS
• The estimatedconstructioncost of the memorial,$4,043,000includesa 14'
diameterplazaat the entry,the majormonument"TheGift"and twelveeaglestatueson
obelisks,engravedwallsand a kioskwith historicalinformation,
tied togetheraroundthe
lakeby a walkwaythat meandersalongthe circumference
of the water.Tenpercentof the
estimatedcostswill be raisedfor a ''perpetual
maintenance
fund."
• Totaldonations,startingin October2006throughyearend2015 have been over
$560,000.
THEEAGLE
STATUES
WILLBESITED
ALONG
THEWALKWAY
ENCIRCLING
THELAKE
MonumentalStatue
"THEGIFT
"
DESIGNED
BYA.THOMAS
SCHOMBERG
,
SCHO
MBERG
STUDIO
S.
Major sponsorships in amounts of $500,000
or $1 Million qualify to receive a limited
edition of "The Gift" in appreciation for such
generous donations.
• Expensesto datehavebeento developthe landscapeandengineering
plansusedto
obtainprovisionalapprovalfor the Memorialand incurredto reestablishthe AIANVMC's
fundraisingactivities. 2016 administrative
costswill be coveredby an awardfrom the
RiversideCountyBoardof Supervisors'
CommunityImprovement
Development
Fund.The
workof theAIANVMCmembersis solelyvoluntary.Thus,donationswill be heldexclusively
for construction
of the proposedMemorial.
• Havingjust displayedthe half size bronzeof "TheGift" at the annualNational
Indian GamingAssociation'sConferenceand Tradeshow,many leads for significant
donationsare in hand.AIANVMCmemberswill meetwith individuals,groupsand tribal
entitiesand submitgrantapplicationsand variousotherdocuments.We will continueto
presentat variedveterans'events,powwowsandNativeculturalcelebrations.
• The AIANVMCis workingto raise sufficientfunds by VeteransDay 2017 so
constructioncan be beginearlyin 2018.A dedicationceremonywill be plannedafterthe
approximate
oneyearto 18 monthsof timeit will taketo completethe Memorial.
TheAIANVMC
offersaccessto a website:www.AIANveteransMemorial.com
-- thatupdates
donors
on recentawardsandactivitiesin whichcommitteemembers
continuefund-raising
activities.The
websiteincludes
historical
factsandstoriesconcerning
American
IndianandAlaskan
Nativeveterans.