Design picked for first national monument to Native American veterans

A panel of jurors this week selected the design for the National Native American Veterans Memorial, almost 25 years after Congress authorized the structure.

The design – a steel ring surrounding a flame above a pool of water – is the work of Harvey Pratt, a 77-year-old Marine Corps veteran and a member of the southern Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes, The Washington Post reported.

An eight-member jury on Tuesday voted unanimously for Pratt’s design over four other finalists. Construction on the memorial is slated to begin Sept. 21, 2019, on the grounds of the National Museum of the American Indian.

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“It’s a great honor for me and my family and our team of people that we’ve accumulated to make this happen,” Pratt told the Post in an interview. “I’m so happy for our Native American veterans that they are finally going to be recognized on the Mall in Washington.”

Congress authorized the memorial in 1994, but it wasn’t until 2013 that fundraising for the project was approved. It is expected to cost $8 million.

Guidelines for the project were unveiled last year. Among the principles were that the design had to honor all tribes, including a spiritual element, and honor the sacrifices of native families. 

A call for design submissions opened in November and closed in January, with the jury receiving 120 submissions. From there, the panel narrowed their options down to five finalists.