House Joint Resolution 25-1019 Revised

House Joint Resolution 25-1019

• Page 1, Line 101Concerning honoring and recognizing the military service

• Page 1, Line 102and contributions of Native American veterans and

• Page 1, Line 103communities.

• Page 1, Line 1WHEREAS, The contributions, sacrifices, and disproportionate

• Page 1, Line 2service of Native American veterans has been integral to the success of the United States military over the course of its history; and

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• Page 1, Line 4WHEREAS, The Colorado General Assembly recognizes that we

• Page 1, Line 5are on the Indigenous land of the Arapahoe and Cheyenne, and the state

• Page 1, Line 6of Colorado also encompasses the native lands of the Ute, Ute Mountain

• Page 1, Line 7Ute, and Navajo, and that settling on the land came at great cost to the

• Page 1, Line 8Native American people, including suppression of culture and being confined to reservations; and

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• Page 2, Line 1WHEREAS, The Indigenous peoples of this land embody a

• Page 2, Line 2warrior spirit. Tribal warrior traditions; treaty commitments with the

• Page 2, Line 3United States; the opportunity to demonstrate patriotism; and pursuit of

• Page 2, Line 4employment, education, or adventure, as well as a responsibility for

• Page 2, Line 5defending Native American homelands, serve as a call to Indigenous military service; and

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• Page 2, Line 7WHEREAS, Native American veterans have served with

• Page 2, Line 8distinction in the United States military in every major conflict for over

• Page 2, Line 9200 years, earning Purple Hearts, Bronze Stars, Silver Stars,

• Page 2, Line 10Congressional Gold Medals, the Congressional Medal of Honor, and other medals, awards, and decorations; and

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• Page 2, Line 12WHEREAS, During the Revolutionary War, the Penobscot and

• Page 2, Line 13Passamaquoddy Tribes heeded General George Washington's call on

• Page 2, Line 14December 24, 1776, for supplemental troops for his army by sending 600 of their own to fight on behalf of the American Revolution; and

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• Page 2, Line 16WHEREAS, During the American Civil War, roughly 3,600 Native Americans served in the Union Army; and

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• Page 2, Line 18WHEREAS, More than 12,000 Native Americans served in World

• Page 2, Line 19War I, many of whom were not conscripted but had volunteered to serve

• Page 2, Line 20despite the fact that one-third of all Native Americans still had not been granted full citizenship by the United States government at the time; and

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• Page 2, Line 22WHEREAS, Over one-third of able-bodied Native American men

• Page 2, Line 23between the ages of 18 and 50, and as much as 70 percent of certain tribal

• Page 2, Line 24populations, served during World War II, representing the highest per

• Page 2, Line 25capita contribution to the total war effort of any demographic group in the United States; and

• Page 2, Line 26WHEREAS, The United States World War II mobilization efforts

• Page 2, Line 27infringed on several Native American reservations; diminished the

• Page 2, Line 28influence of the Bureau of Indian Affairs within Congress by moving its

• Page 2, Line 29Washington, DC office to Chicago; cut funding for Native American

• Page 2, Line 30programs; and caused a shortage of nurses and doctors on reservations as medical professionals joined military operations; and

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• Page 2, Line 32WHEREAS, The Choctaw Indians, largely without American

• Page 2, Line 33citizenship status, pioneered the use of Native American languages to

• Page 2, Line 34encode United States military communications while stationed at

• Page 3, Line 1battlefield command posts, successfully protecting United States and

• Page 3, Line 2Allied troops, supply locations, and plans from enemy intelligence;

• Page 3, Line 3ensuring the security of Allied resources and Allied lives; and contributing to the Allied victory in World War I; and

• Page 3, Line 4WHEREAS, Over 400 Native Americans served integral roles in

• Page 3, Line 5World War II as ''code talkers'', employing their knowledge of Navajo and

• Page 3, Line 6other Native American languages—which languages the United States

• Page 3, Line 7government had long attempted to suppress through boarding schools

• Page 3, Line 8since the late 1800s—to develop unbreakable codes to send messages across the Pacific; and

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• Page 3, Line 10WHEREAS, Navajo Code Talkers contributed to every Pacific

• Page 3, Line 11Marine-led assault from 1942 to 1945, including Iwo Jima, Guadalcanal,

• Page 3, Line 12Tarawa, and Peleliu, and in 2001, 28 Navajo Code Talkers received Congressional Gold Medals, mostly posthumously; and

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• Page 3, Line 14WHEREAS, 42,000 Native Americans served in the Vietnam War,

• Page 3, Line 15over 90 percent of them volunteers, and the names of 232 Native

• Page 3, Line 16Americans and Alaska Natives who were killed in combat or went

• Page 3, Line 17missing in action are etched on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington, DC; and

• Page 3, Line 18WHEREAS, Over 10,000 Native Americans served in the Korean

• Page 3, Line 19War, and 194 were killed in combat; and

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• Page 3, Line 21WHEREAS, There are about 60 Southern Ute veterans who served

• Page 3, Line 22in the United States military, including during World War I, World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and the Persian Gulf War; and

• Page 3, Line 23

• Page 3, Line 24WHEREAS, Multiple generations of Colorado Indigenous peoples

• Page 3, Line 25gave their lives in service to their country, including the Baker and Box families of the Southern Ute Tribe; and

• Page 3, Line 26

• Page 3, Line 27WHEREAS, The Ute Mountain Ute and Southern Ute Tribes serve

• Page 3, Line 28an integral leadership role in the United Veterans Coalition of Colorado; and

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• Page 3, Line 30WHEREAS, Roughly 31,000 Native Americans and Alaska

• Page 3, Line 31Natives are currently on active duty, serving around the world, in which

• Page 3, Line 32they continue to serve in greater numbers per capita than any other

• Page 3, Line 33demographic group; and

• WHEREAS, Native American women serve in our Armed Forces

• Page 4, Line 1at disproportionately high rates; and

• Page 4, Line 2WHEREAS, Native American veterans experience higher rates of

• Page 4, Line 3homelessness and substance abuse than other groups, and face limited

• Page 4, Line 4access to medical care due to the shortcomings of the Department of

• Page 4, Line 5Veterans Affairs in administering culturally sensitive treatment and

• Page 4, Line 6establishing facilities within accessible distances to rural reservations; now, therefore,

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• Page 4, Line 8Be It Resolved by the House of Representatives of the Seventy-fifth General Assembly of the State of Colorado, the Senate concurring herein:

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• Page 4, Line 10(1)  That we, the members of the General Assembly, honor the

• Page 4, Line 11disproportionately high military service, sacrifice, and patriotism of Native American veterans;

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• Page 4, Line 13(2)  That we recognize the indispensable contributions of Native

• Page 4, Line 14Americans in advancing United States interests, military successes, and

• Page 4, Line 15global stability, often as the United States government failed to fulfill its

• Page 4, Line 16federal trust responsibility and protect tribal treaty rights, lands, and resources; and

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• Page 4, Line 18(3)  That we commit to addressing the unique hardships and

• Page 4, Line 19inequities faced by Native American veterans, service members, and Gold

• Page 4, Line 20Star families, as well as upholding our nation's solemn responsibilities to

• Page 4, Line 21support the Indigenous communities and tribes that continue to serve our country as they have since our nation's founding.