Staff Sgt. Matthew Michel, a member of the Chiricahua Apache Tribe, was the featured guest speaker during a special celebration held Nov. 26 on Chièvres Air Base, Belgium. (U.S. Army photo by Christophe Morel)

Benelux community observes National American Indian Heritage Month

November is National American Indian Heritage Month, honoring American Indians and Alaskan natives. The theme for 2019 is “Honoring Our Nations: Building Strength Through Understanding.”

Staff Sgt. Matthew Michel, a member of the Chiricahua Apache Tribe, was the featured guest speaker during a special celebration held Nov. 26 on Chièvres Air Base. “I stand before you to represent a group known as the Native American, my people,” Michel said. “Native Americans are as different and varied as the states in which we hail from. From the well-known Cherokee, Iroquois and Apache to the more obscure tribes such as the Lulapin, Miwuk, and Shoshone. Despite many tribes carrying their own unique traditions, languages, cultures, values, and spiritual identities; we all fall under the same umbrella of Native Americans,” he added.

American Indians and Alaskan natives have served the nation valiantly and with distinction in times of peace and war for over 200 years. They have influenced every stage of America’s development. “In everyday life you can see aspects of Native American culture having had its influence on modern day Americans. Nation defining events in history have been in part due to the effects Native Americans have had on our country as it developed,” Michel said.

Michel is from a smaller subset of the overarching Apache tribes. “My family in particular has been in service in every single conflict since the infamous Apache Wars from 1861 – 1900 on my father’s side and even further back with the Cherokee on my mother’s side to present date,” Michel said. For me and my family, a significant source of pride is that we have fought, bled, killed, and died for the ideals of freedom. As of this year my family has lost 347 family members. For us this is not something we lament or regret, but another source of pride,” he added.

Michel concluded with a quote from his father: “the measure of a good Soldier, warrior is not their willingness to kill or die in battle. It is their resolve to continue living bearing the scars of what comes after.”

To learn more about Native Americans and Alaskan natives, check out resources at the Chièvres Library or SHAPE International Library.

Read more about the history of American Indians’ in the U.S. Army at https://www.army.mil/americanindians/.

By Christophe Morel, USAG Benelux Public Affairs