Who We Are

Warrior Spirit Consortium is a group of curriculum writers and historians who are committed to the mission of illuminating the lives and history of Native Americans who have served their country and who will be honored in the new Native American War Veterans Memorial in Washington DC.

The need for an educational link tied to the Veterans Memorial grew out of the meetings held with native veterans and groups across the nation. Over 50 reservations and Indian veteran groups were interviewed to get their reaction to the proposed Indian Veterans Memorial. With 450 tribes and bands out there, getting any agreement is a real challenge. At each of the inquiry meetings, veterans were asked to identify themselves, tell about their service, branch, etc. and what they thought about the proposed memorial. Many of them, men and women veterans, got choked up and even cried when they talked about their service and the proposed memorial. Invariably, the last question asked was, "Does this mean that kids in schools across the country will learn that Indians have been the friends of America and not their enemy?"

The project leaders, including Dr Viola and staff from the Smithsonian, left them with the assurance that from now on, kids in American schools would learn about Indian patriotism and loyalty.

Today a team of historians, educators, Native Americans, and others collaborate together using oral histories from tribal members to illuminate the service of these veterans through curriculum resources that can be placed in the classroom in grades K-12.