A Tradition of Service
Native people have always served.
Long before there was a United States military, Native men and women protected their communities, defended their lands, and carried responsibility for the survival of their people. Service is not new to us. It is woven into who we are.
Today, Native Americans serve in the U.S. Armed Forces at the highest rate per capita of any ethnic group. Yet this is not widely known. What is also less known is that while many Native women enlist, far fewer remain long enough to build a full career.
As an Ojibwe woman and a retired Chief Petty Officer in the United States Navy, I understand that journey personally.
Making History
In 1991, I became the first Native American female to reach the rank of Chief Petty Officer (E-7) in the United States Navy.
That moment was not about recognition. It was about endurance.
The path was not simple. It required staying when others left. It required navigating environments where few people looked like me and even fewer understood where I came from. It required holding onto my identity while serving an institution that did not always reflect it.
Native Americans enlist for many reasons — patriotism, opportunity, tradition, economic stability. For many of us, the military offers a path beyond reservation poverty and limited resources. But staying in long enough to rise in rank requires something more than enlistment. It requires support, mentorship, and a belief that advancement is possible.
In 1991, that advancement had not yet happened for a Native American woman at the rank of Chief.
Until it did.
Why So Few Stay
Service is honorable. But it is also demanding.
Native service members often carry additional weight — cultural distance, family obligations back home, financial pressures, and sometimes isolation within their units. Many leave after fulfilling their initial commitment, returning home to support family or reconnect with community.
I speak openly about this when I address military audiences during Native American History Month. I ask difficult questions:
Why do Native Americans serve at such high rates?
Why do so many leave before reaching senior leadership?
What would it take to change that?
These are not abstract questions. They are personal.
A Personal Mission
One of my goals is to see more Native women and men stay.
To see more rise in rank.
To see more build careers.
To see more return home not only with pride, but with financial stability, leadership skills, and expanded opportunity.
Military service changed my life. It provided structure, advancement, and a path forward. But I never left behind who I was. I remained Ojibwe. I remained connected to my roots. I carried my heritage with me.
Being the first Native American female Chief Petty Officer was not the end of a story. It was a beginning.
If one young Native woman or man sees what is possible and chooses to stay — to advance — to lead — then that milestone continues to matter.
Service has always been part of who we are.
Leadership can be too.