Sgt. Kenneth Palmore always desired to follow in his ancestors’ footsteps and serve in the military. However, it wasn’t until he was ten years old, when his Family moved to North Texas that he truly understood what it meant to defend his Nation and his people.
“I come from a long line of people serving in the military,” Palmore said. “Both of my grandfathers on my mom’s and dad’s sides served in the Navy. Originally, I was looking at joining the Navy, but ended up choosing the Army.”
Palmore, a 42A - Human Resources Specialist with Company D, 369th Adjutant General Battalion, originally joined the Army in 2009. He chose 42A so he would have job prospects outside of the Army once he left service, he said.
“When I was 10 years old, we moved from south to north Texas to be closer to my mom’s family,” Palmore said. “That’s when we got involved with the Choctaw and Chickasaw nations.”
Due to his mother’s unique lineage, Palmore and his Family are members of both the Choctaw and Chickasaw tribes.
“Kind of like with the military, both nations provided a community for us,” Palmore said. “They also had a lot of health care services that we got involved with. I still stay up to date with their email newsletters and their online open forums for other members.”
The Choctaw Nation originated in central and southwest Mississippi, eastern Louisiana and western Alabama and was eventually broken up into three federally recognized tribes. They are the third-largest Indian nation in the United States with over 212,000 tribal members and they were the first tribe to relocate to Oklahoma as part of the Indian Removal Act of 1830, more commonly known as the Trail of Tears.
The Chickasaw Nation originated in northeast Mississippi, northwest Alabama, west Tennessee, and southwest Kentucky and relocated to south-central Oklahoma in the mid-1800s. They are a smaller tribe, but still boast more than 73,000 citizens and their territory includes 7,648 square miles. They were one of the last of what was called the “Five Civilized Tribes” to relocate to the region.
Native tribes have a long history of serving in the United States military that started with the Code Talkers during World War I. Various Native American tribes used their unique and nearly indecipherable language to communicate and simultaneously confuse the enemy during World War I, II, the Korean and Vietnam Wars.
“Native American Indian Heritage Month is about tradition, recognizing where we came from and looking towards the future as a Native American and a Soldier,” Palmore said. “It’s important to recognize the natives who were here before the United States was established and recognize their commitment to preserving and protecting this land.”
Social Sharing