| Patty Loew comes from a long line of storytellers. Despite the layered and complicated history of her Native ancestors, and a targeted effort of the United States government to strip Native Americans of their culture, and thus their stories, this trait has endured in her family for years. On November 1, Loew's storytelling and journalistic know-how will come to life on television screens across the nation with the airing of her newest documentary Way of the Warrior on PBS. Way of the Warrior tells a story that many should know, but most do not. It is the story of Native American war veterans and their complicated relationship to the U.S. military. Peppered with the words of veterans from diaries and writings, historical footage, interviews, and native music, Way of the Warrior examines Native American stories from WWI, WWII, Korea and Vietnam. According to PBS: "These gripping stories" weave a tapestry of positive and negative themes: the warrior ethic, prejudice and stereotypes, forced assimilation, poverty, cultural pride, redemptive acts and healing. "Behind these stories is one woman's determination to discover why Native Americans felt compelled to fight for the United States military at such higher rates than their White counterparts and the role and cultural meaning of Native American military service in the 20th century. Three years in the making, Way of the Warrior has been percolating in Loew's brain for years. Her grandfather, a WWI veteran, was one of the major inspirations for her documentary. "It was my grandfather's war experience that really planted the seed for this documentary," Loew said. "I often imagined my grandfather putting his hand up and taking an oath to the constitution, yet he wasn't a citizen." Loew wondered why so many young Native American men willingly went off to war; even during times they were denied citizenship from their own country. Military recruitment on some reservations reached as high as 70 percent at times and young Native American soldiers, stereotyped as warriors, were often given the harshest and most brutal assignments on the frontlines. In WWI, Native soldiers died at rates five times greater than the general population. "Native Americans were singled out for the most dangerous assignments," Loew said. "They paid the price. They had more casualties and higher rates of PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder)." Loew's grandfather, Edward DeNomie, fought in the trenches of WWI and kept a diary of his experiences in the 32nd "Red Arrow" Division. As Loew delved deeper into her grandfather's history she found that in many ways he was raised to be a soldier. DeNomie was raised at the Tomah Indian Boarding School. While education was purportedly the purpose of such boarding schools, they were also hotbeds for forced assimilation and deculturization. "The children were beaten for speaking their own language," Loew said. Young Native American boys were dressed in cadet uniforms, given wooden guns, and taught to march to their classes. According to historian Thomas Britten, this environment helped create "a seamless transition from boarding schools to training camps to the front lines." |
| An interview with Patty Loew "Way of the Warrior" By Laura Salinger |
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| (Left)Patricia Loew, University of Wisconsin-Madison associate professor of life sciences communication and WHA-TV anchor --Photo by Jeff Miller |
| (Top) Patricia Loew's grandfather, Pvt. Edward DeNomie (Bad River Ojibwe), 127th Infantry, 32nd Red Arrow Division, saw action in all seven major battles in which American Expeditionary Forces fought during World War I. Loew, an associate professor of life sciences communication at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, has produced "Way of the Warrior," a documentary that explores the motivation of Native American soldiers to fight in the U.S. military, for a country that considered them outsiders. (Above ) Entries from the diary of Pvt. Edward DeNomie in August 1919, written from the French Front. The diary detailed the daily life of DeNomie's infantry division as it moved through France during World War I. -- Photos courtesy of Patricia Loew |
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| The frontline is where many young Native American men have found themselves in 20th Century conflicts. In "Way of the Warrior," Loew interviewed approximately three-dozen Native veterans and their families, along with a handful of historians, to discover why these brave men felt compelled to serve a country that has often disserved them. After speaking with a number of veterans, she soon discovered that the common explanations of economics, adventure, and the warrior mentality were a far cry from the main motivations for serving in the military. In one case, a Menominee veteran said he served because he was honoring his treaty obligations, despite the fact that the United States government had broken this same treaty agreement time after time. Other veterans had different reasons for serving in the military. "It was really more about family, tribal, and clan obligations, than it was about adventure and economics," Loew said. Loew also discovered that Native communities do a much better job than the mainstream community of reintegrating their soldiers into everyday life after they have served in combat. "Every Native American community I visited had purification ceremonies for returning soldiers," Loew said. "These communities also conduct ceremonies to send them off." "Way of the Warrior" tackles a number of issues, both past and present, that have faced Native American veterans in the 20th century. It works to dispel the myths surrounding Native American veterans, and paint a clearer picture of their relationship with the U.S. military. The voices and messages are truly Native-a large number of the production team are Native Americans themselves-lending authenticity and Native ownership to the film. "I am really proud of the fact that so many people involved in the production are Native," Loew said. Loew herself is member of the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Ojibwe. She is currently an assistant professor in the University of Wisconsin-Madison Department of Life Sciences and is the award-winning author of "Indian Nations of Wisconsin: Histories of Endurance and Renewal and Native People of Wisconsin." She is also a producer for WPT (Wisconsin Public Television) and co-host of WPT's "In Wisconsin." Loew, a long-time journalist, is well known for her contributions to Native American issues and her reconstruction of Native American history with authentic voices. Born and raised in the projects of downtown Milwaukee, Loew, like many other Native Americans, was raised with little knowledge of her Native roots. Mainly, this was an attempt to shelter her and save her from the discrimination that her grandfather experienced first hand. But the when the '60s and '70s came, Native American rights were brought to the forefront. This would be the beginning of Loew's thoughtful and awakening journey to rediscover her roots. "The late '60s was when I was really exposed to Native American issues," Loew said. "The more I read, the more outraged and indignant I became." Loew describes what happened next as a process of self education, self awareness, and identity reconstruction. Soon thereafter, Loew would begin to try and fill the gaps that peppered Native American history. Imprinted onto her personage, perhaps from the influence of her storytelling mother and grandfather, was the desire to tell the Native story. Through documentaries and books, Loew has brought to life the stories and events that are not only a part of Native American history, but a vital part of this country's history. When to watch "Way of the Warrior": Nov. 1, 9 p.m. Central/10 p.m. Eastern on PBS or Nov. 5., 8 p.m. on Wisconsin Public Television. For more information visit wpt.org/wayofthewarrior. |