{"id":316028,"date":"2024-10-31T23:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-11-01T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=316028"},"modified":"2024-11-02T16:27:29","modified_gmt":"2024-11-02T16:27:29","slug":"indigenous-south-dakota-soldier-receives-hair-exemption","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=316028","title":{"rendered":"Indigenous South Dakota Soldier Receives Hair Exemption"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n Native American Spc. Moses Brave Heart of the South Dakota Army National Guard\u2019s 235th Military Police Company is growing his hair long after receiving an exception to military policy.
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\n Native American Spc. Moses Brave Heart of the South Dakota Army National Guard\u2019s 235th Military Police Company is growing his hair long after receiving an exception to military policy.
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RAPID CITY, S.D. \u2013 Native American Spc. Moses Brave Heart of the South Dakota Army National Guard\u2019s 235th Military Police Company is growing his hair long after receiving an exception to policy.<\/p>\n

Brave Heart is a member of the Oglala Sioux tribe and grew up on the Pine Ridge Reservation. He cut his hair to join the North Dakota National Guard in 2020 and transferred to the SDNG in April 2024.<\/p>\n

\u201cI knew I wanted to go into law enforcement and the military, and at the time thought, well, I can only do that with short hair and that\u2019s how it\u2019s got to be,\u201d said Brave Heart.<\/p>\n

When he joined, he didn\u2019t know there was such a thing as religious accommodation, and he accepted that the standards were set and there was nothing to do about it.<\/p>\n

\u201cI cut my hair knowing it was going to be for a good reason, for a career, so I made the sacrifice because I knew that if I kept it long, I wouldn\u2019t be able to join,\u201d said Brave Heart.<\/p>\n

Within the Lakota culture, long hair is an extension of the spirit, typically only cut for grief and loss purposes, where it\u2019s then buried or burnt. Apart from those circumstances, their hair is grown and kept neat, representing strength, connection to ancestors, memories and joy.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne person that really helped me a lot was Capt. Johnson, he was really excited about it and wanted to help me push it forward,\u201d said Brave Heart. \u201cI just gathered up whatever I could and gave it to him and he just put all the pieces together.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brave Heart learned of the possibility of an exception to policy while deployed in 2022-2023. He credits Capt. Nathan Johnson in the NDNG\u2019s 131st Military Police Battalion.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe thing that really pushed me was that I wanted to be in uniform and also express my culture, and long hair is significant in all Native American tribes. So being in the Army and being told \u2018Be All You Can Be,\u2019 well this is a part of me, and Capt. Johnson was really excited and supportive to help me get this,\u201d said Brave Heart.<\/p>\n

In May 2023, Brave Heart\u2019s exception to policy was approved by the Department of Defense and he began to let his hair grow. This expression of his Lakota culture also allowed him to educate those around him and in his own culture on the strides the military is making.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn uniform, there has definitely been some with an old mindset that staying disciplined means that men should have short hair in uniform, and sometimes the looks could really push someone to give up and be like, \u2018OK, I don\u2019t want to do this anymore,\u2019 but I just turn it all into noise because I\u2019m being strong in my beliefs and culture,\u201d said Brave Heart.<\/p>\n

Brave Heart said part of being in the military is fighting for people\u2019s freedoms and rights. He is focused on educating others that it\u2019s possible to join the military without cutting their hair. He also hopes his journey will lead to a better understanding by his fellow citizen warriors about the cultural significance of their hair.<\/p>\n

During American Indian Heritage Month in November, stories like this help highlight the diversity and culture of the SDNG and the U.S. military \u2014 supporting the mission of a ready force.<\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.nationalguard.mil<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/TheNationalGuard<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.twitter.com\/USNationalGuard<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/instagram.com\/us.nationalguard<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

1 \/ 2 Show Caption + Hide Caption \u2013 Native American Spc. Moses Brave Heart of the South Dakota Army National Guard\u2019s 235th Military Police Company is growing his hair long after receiving an exception to military policy. (Photo Credit: Courtesy) VIEW ORIGINAL 2 \/ 2 Show Caption + Hide Caption \u2013 Native American Spc. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":316030,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-316028","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/316028","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=316028"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/316028\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":316033,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/316028\/revisions\/316033"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/316030"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=316028"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=316028"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=316028"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}