NETT LAKE – Stories of military veterans of the Bois Forte Band are finding a new voice, just in time for Veterans Day, thanks to an initiative at KBFT Bois Forte Tribal Community Radio.
Chaz Wagner, host of the station’s late morning show, “The Deep End,” has been doing recorded interviews of veterans and turning them into short audio and video clips highlighting various aspects of their service.
Averaging about five minutes each, the clips Wagner has produced so far follow a common pattern. A veteran describes the general nature of their military service, highlights a particularly meaningful aspect or situation from their experience, and reflects on the importance of Veterans Day and/or military service in the Band’s culture.
“They don’t get recognition as often as they should,” Wagner said. “It’s a way where we can give back to some of the important people of our community. I have a passion for radio and capturing stories and gathering stories from people because everybody has a story. I want to capture the little history that we have. They’re like libraries, their stories. I have the gift to do this and I’m going to take advantage of it now while all the stars are aligned with grant money to do it and the elders are still here.”
The idea germinated this past summer as the radio station was looking for a way to highlight community veterans in a way that was also sensitive to the issues surrounding the COVID pandemic. Wagner also said the project is different from anything they’ve done in the past. They approached the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund, a frequent supporter of programming efforts at the station, for financial assistance.
“I didn’t get the green light on this until maybe a couple of weeks ago,” Wagner said. “But we had the project in mind and it’s just perfect timing that Veterans Day is coming up.”
The Heritage Fund money isn’t going into production costs, however. It’s being used to give participating veterans an honorarium.
“I could have paid for producers and stuff like that, but I just wanted to produce it myself and give 100 percent back to the veterans,” Wagner said.
Wagner interviews his subjects wherever they feel most comfortable, and there’s far more that gets discussed than can fit in a five-minute recording. Some of it can’t be shared, Wagner said, but the full recordings will likely be preserved, too, for some future use.
At 89 years of age, former tribal chairman and Army veteran Gary Donald is the senior member among those Wagner has interviewed thus far. After boot camp in 1951, Donald was tabbed as a trainer for troops who would be sent to the front in the Korean conflict. He commented on a common theme among Native Americans who took up military service, the influence of family and history.
“I looked at the veterans that we had then in those days, my relatives who had served, and I thought to myself, ‘There’s a chance for me to join the military and learn something,’” he said.
Jerome Whiteman, an Army aviation mechanic during the Vietnam War who has other relatives who served in the Army and Navy, believes that military service comes naturally to Native Americans.
“We’re warriors, it’s our culture, from the day we are born, providers, protectors, and it’s just in us,” he said. “I have some grandsons who are highly thinking about going in because our family is like that. We’re part of the Lynx clan, my clan is like that. We’re bred that way.”
Dianna Goodsky holds the distinction of being the first Native American woman to rise to the rank of chief petty officer in the U.S. Navy, something she came to learn after a 15-year stint in the service. She, too, believes military service is a good fit for Native Americans.
“To be the first Native American female chief is even more special to me for this reason,” Goodsky said. “I truly believe that we have the capabilities to serve in the Navy and any military establishment. As Natives we have natural leaderhip qualities, we just have so many good qualities that fit in the military. And the military has really good lessons for us to learn and be well-rounded.”
Perhaps all of the above might explain why a higher percentage of Native Americans participate in military service than any other racial/ethnic group. But Fred McDougall, also a Navy veteran who served on a carrier involved in the Cuban missile crisis blockade in 1962, believes it goes even deeper.
“Why (have) Indian people served disproportionately? I think it was more than being an American,” he said. “This is their land. It probably means a hell of a lot more to an American Indian, the Mother Earth here, the land where our ancestors are buried, means a lot more to Indian people than just being in the military.”
As of Monday, Wagner had completed four of the eight episodes he intends to produce, and he was confident the remainder will be finished by Veterans Day. He said he’s worked to enlist veterans who he hasn’t interviewed before, ones who may be less well-known for their service than some of the more visible and active Band members.
However, honoring veterans in the Band isn’t something relegated to a single-day observance, Wagner said.
“We’re very proud of our veterans who are Band members, and the Indigenous veterans,” he said. “We hold those people to the highest honors that anybody could. We go to a pow wow, we have songs that are specifically to honor veterans. We always recognize and thank them for protecting us and for their service. They were willing to give up the ultimate sacrifice, willing to give up their lives for their people, for their country, and for the tribe. That deserves the highest honor anyone can get in my book.”
Wagner is airing the clips on his morning show at KBFT 89.9 FM between 11 a.m. and noon on Mondays and Tuesday, but they’re also being posted on the KBFT Facebook page and uploaded to the KBFT Radio YouTube channel. Wagner is also sharing them through PRX, a public radio exchange site.