NEW TOWN, ND (KXNET) Veteran’s Day is coming up, but some local businesses make it a priority to honor veterans year-round. The MHA Interpretive Center in New Town is one of those businesses. The center is dedicated to educating visitors about the history of the MHA Nation, including those who have served in the military.
“Each of us has many, many family members that were part of the service,” said Zaysha Grinnell, the Cultural Coordinator at MHA Interpretive Center.
The MHA Interpretive Center still honors those who fought in war, just as the tribe has always done. But more importantly, by going overseas to fight in the US military, Native American people ended up gaining more rights and respect.
“It was very important for us to send our people off to war, for us to get enlisted, for us to go because at that time, we were not recognized as citizens…but we still went over and fought,” said Zane Baker, Collections Manager at MHA Interpretive Center.
“From the stories from my father, it’s almost a bad thing that they let us do this because when we came back, we had all these accolades, we have all these rewards, we all these things that are bestowed upon you. You have certain rights when you come into ceremony, often times whatever they say goes, even if they are not in charge, per se. We sent our boys off to war…we honored them like we always have. We continue to do that today,” added Baker.
Learn more about the MHA Interpretive Center online.
