The drums sounded across the Comanche County Fairgrounds in Lawton.
The beat in honor of Native Americans who served this country with pride.
And if Kris Killsfirst, Sr., has any say in it they will keep beating for years to come as a reminder of generations of Native American U.S. Service Members past, present and future.
The seventh annual KCA Veterans Powwow was held in conjunction with the Ft. Sill Armed Forces Parade.
The event started in 2019 as a result of the Smithsonian Institute asking three Oklahoma tribes to help with the unveiling of the National Native American Veteran’s Memorial in Washington, D.C.
“We came together and said ‘what can we do,’” Killsfirst said. “They said “have a celebration and honor our veterans.’ That’s how we came together and started this KCA Powwow.”
Turnout was good for the first event and a partnership with the Oklahoma Department of Veteran’s Affairs office in Muskogee helped veterans in southwest Oklahoma put in 156 benefit claims.
Killsfirst said there were an astounding 86 first-time claimants.
“It was one of the largest events they had ever had,” Killsfirst said. “We reached a lot of rural veterans in Southwest Oklahoma. A lot of them came out because their families said they were dancing for them.
“A lot of our veterans come home and integrate back into society and don’t really claim and get the benefits they rightfully deserve. That’s how we kept going with this.”
Killsfirst said the event brings some broken families together for the first time in decades.
“Pretty soon they couldn’t even remember they were mad at each other,” Killsfirst laughed. “It’s a celebration. There’s no agenda.” There’s traditional food, dancing and family. “We answer a lot of questions. We educate people about who we are and what we do,” Killsfirst said. “Even to our community and neighbors, the folks we went to school with they’ve always heard our drums. They’ve always seen our regalia but they never understood exactly what it meant.”
Killsfirst laments his father’s generation never received the recognition they deserved coming back from Vietnam. He was able to bring his father out to the initial Pow Wows. “Those ones didn’t get this welcome so that’s why it’s so important,” Killsfirst said.
Earlier this year, Killsfirst was inducted into the Oklahoma Military Hall of Honor.
Other honorees included Matthew Dukes, Dr., Sergeant, US Marine Corps, Mark
Baker, Captain, US Army, Peter Plank, Lieutenant Colonel, OK State Guard and Brandi Rector, Sergeant, US Marine Corps.
Killsfirst served from September 1992 to March 2012.
He completed basic training at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. He served in Iraq from March 2003 to April 2004, November 2005 to November 2006 and June 2008 to June 2009 with HQs & A Company, 1-4 Attack Reconnaissance Battalion and the 4th Infantry Division.
He served as the team chief for the forward arming refill point.
During his career he also served in Fort Drum, New York with the 10th Mountain Division, Camp Mobile, Korea with 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Sill, Oklahoma with 214th Field Artillery Brigade and K-16 (Seoul Airbase), Korea with the 17th Aviation Brigade.
He retired at Fort Carson, Colorado with the 555th Engineer Brigade.
Now his mission is to help educate.
“One of the biggest things I think is important is we help educate our younger people of where they come from,” Killsfirst said. “They get to hear stories about their grandpas and their grandmas about our history.”
He points out Native Americans were not granted citizenship prior to 1924.
“Yet we deserved in defense of this country for decades before that,” he said. “We’ve only been citizens for 103 years. People don’t know that. It’s allowing our older folks to tell there story once again.” • story by Bobby Anderson, contributing writer
