nativeartsculture] FW: [ProudToBeNativeAmerican] Project Moccasins gives Native...

Project Moccasins gives Native soldiers comfort, tie to culture Know a
soldier in need? Or perhaps you want to donate.

Sam Lewin 4/19/2005
http://www.nativetimes.com

A project spanning across the country aims to deliver moccasins to
every Native soldier currently serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.

It all starts with Anthony DeClue, a 38-year-old Lakota man living in
St. Cloud, Minnesota.

"What I do is thread them up," DeClue told the Native American
Times. "We have a guy that does the leatherwork-he stamps the leather
with eagle feathers and sends it to me and I start painting them. The
moccasins are smudged and we put a dream catcher in each one."

DeClue knows firsthand why such a project can be so valuable to those
soldiers serving thousands of miles from home.

"I spent seven years in the Special Forces and I was disconnected
from my heritage," he said. "I want the warriors over there to feel
connected. When they take off their boots and put their feet in the
moccasins they might feel a little closer to where they are from."

The project has attracted the attention of the National Native
American Veterans Association of Oklahoma City and the American
Indian Chamber of Commerce of Oklahoma.

It also caught the eye of Sherry Girty, a 38-year-old office manager
from Lawrence, Kansas. Girty, Cherokee and Creek, runs a website,
Support our Native Troops Overseas, that assists American Indian
veterans. If you know of an Indian soldier that could use the
moccasins, e-mail her at shergirt@yahoo.com.

"We want to do something to let [the soldiers] know they are
appreciated," Girty said.

Even with little publicity, the project has been a success.

"I have been getting e-mails from troops overseas who get in touch
and say they would like the moccasins," she said.

DeClue says he makes sure that the moccasins contain a "piece of
Mother Earth so that our warriors will come home."

He estimates that there are 300 requests that have yet to be filled,
but "we are doing it until all the Natives come home and everyone has
one."

DeClue is performing the service free-of-charge because "I wish there
was something like this when I was serving."

If you would like to donate, send to:

Anthony DeClue
PO Box 5158
St. Cloud MN.
56302