Design Chosen for National Native American Veterans Memorial

General Douglas MacArthur, commander-in-chief of the Allied forces in the South Pacific, on an inspection trip of American battle fronts, late 1943.

Harvey Pratt, the designer whose concept was selected to create the Smithsonian’s National Native American Veterans Memorial for the National Museum of the American Indian is a Cheyenne and Arapaho tribal member. He is a self-taught artist from Oklahoma and a forensic artist.

Harvey Pratt in Da Nang, Vietnam.

Photo by R.D. Pratt, courtesy of Harvey Pratt

Lauren Good Day Giago (Sahnish [Arikara]/Minitari [Hidatsa]/Niitsitapii [Blackfoot/Blackfeet]/Plains Cree), A Warrior's Story, Honoring Grandpa Blue Bird, 2012.

Military service record of John Montour, ca. 1781, John Montour (Lenape [Delaware]/Métis, 1744–1788) was a cultural mediator during the Revolutionary War between his people and Euro-Americans. He also served the Americans as captain of a company of Lenape soldiers.

Military service record of John Montour, ca. 1781, John Montour (Lenape [Delaware]/Métis, 1744–1788) was a cultural mediator during the Revolutionary War between his people and Euro-Americans. He also served the Americans as captain of a company of Lenape soldiers.

Artist's rendering of the National Native American Veterans Memorial, designed by Harvey Pratt (Cheyenne/Arapaho)

Gus Palmer (Kiowa, at left), side gunner, and Horace Poolaw (Kiowa), aerial photographer, in front of a B-17 Flying Fortress. MacDill Field, Tampa, Florida, ca. 1944. 45UFL14. © 2014 Estate of Horace Poolaw. Reprinted with permission.

Eagle-feather war bonnets adorn U.S. military uniform jackets at a Ton-Kon-Gah (Black Leggings Society) ceremonial, held annually to honor Kiowa tribal veterans. Near Anadarko, Oklahoma, 2006. 

National Museum of the American Indian