Mitchelene Bigman (Bigman)

Place: Billings

Born: 1965

Biography:

Mitchelene BigMan is an Apsáalooke (Crow/Absaroke) / Minitari (Hidatsa) U.S. Army veteran and advocate, best known for establishing the Native American Women Warriors (NAWW), the first all-female native Color Guard. Born on September 1, 1965, in Billings, Montana, BigMan was raised on and off the Montana Crow Reservation. She attended Billings Senior High School and enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1987.

Early Life and Education

BigMan's early life was marked by challenges, including a negative experience at one of the reservation's Catholic-run Indian Residential Schools. She eventually moved to Billings, where she graduated from Billings Senior High School in June 1983. After working as a dockworker and firefighter, BigMan enlisted in the U.S. Army, citing low employment opportunities and high rates of domestic abuse at the reservation as the reasons for her enlistment.

Military Service and Advocacy

BigMan served as a diesel mechanic for most of her military career, quickly developing a reputation for volunteering for hard or dangerous assignments. She deployed to Iraq twice during Operation Iraqi Freedom, including a 2005 tour in which she earned a Combat Action Ribbon after surviving a rocket attack. BigMan retired as a Sergeant First Class on April 30, 2009. During her service, BigMan was subjected to racism and discrimination due to her Native American identity and her gender. This led her to create a support network for fellow female veterans of Native American identity, resulting in the establishment of the Army Women's Iraqi Freedom Veterans (AWIFV) Color Guard. The goal of this organization was to provide a support network for female veterans of native identity, celebrating the intersectionality between them while providing these veterans with the ability to carry their ceremonial honors again. BigMan's Native American Women Warriors (NAWW) is the modern successor to AWIFV, chartered on March 12, 2010. NAWW's purpose is dedicated to the recognition of women veterans, especially of Native American descent, and their contributions to both the military and indigenous cultures of the United States.

• The NAWW team incorporates traditional handmade jingle dresses with their performances, combining the traditional healing and celebratory nature of the dresses with contemporary military symbols and emblems.
• The modern NAWW dress is colored red, white, blue, and Cheyenne pink, symbolizing patriotism and indigenous identity.
• BigMan's team has performed at various events across the United States, including Barack Obama's Second Inauguration in 2013 and Joe Biden's Inauguration in 2021.

For more information on Mitchelene BigMan and her work, visit https://Wikioo.org/@/Mitchelene-Bigman-(Bigman) or https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitchelene_BigMan. You can also explore the Native American Women Warriors (NAWW) collection at https://Wikioo.org/Art.nsf/O/A@D3B4XR.