“I was a tanker. I knew nothing about being a light Soldier [but] I really enjoyed my experience at the school, between the people that were there with me and the learning environment,” Bald Eagle said.
The next significant influence in Bald Eagle’s life came from some of his fellow Sapper students, from Fort Bragg’s 82nd Airborne Division.
“They talked to me and told me about the unit and their experiences. They convinced me that becoming a member of the 82nd Airborne would be a great next step,” Remi recalled. “It was not only the encouragement I received from them, but their professionalism and motivation that made me want to be one of those guys.”
In 1998, Bald Eagle transferred to Fort Bragg, N.C., and volunteered for the 82nd, the same unit that his father had served with during World War II.
By the end of his military service in 2001, Bald Eagle was married and a father of three children. It was time for him to choose between advancing his career in the military and being a full-time dad. Remi chose the latter.
A year later, Remi’s brother, who was also in the military and being deployed to Afghanistan, asked him to watch his ranch in Texas while he was away serving his country.
“The Lakota people are nomads,” Remi said. “The winds of society blow us all over the place. That’s how I got from South Dakota to Texas.”
While in Texas, he enrolled in classes at Trinity Valley Community College in Athens and then continued his studies at the University of Texas at Dallas, earning a bachelor’s degree in political science.
Throughout his life, Remi’s father taught him many things, most importantly, morals and ethics.
“My father is the greatest man that I have ever known,” Remi said proudly.
“He is a very selfless individual. He does not say, ‘I am here for my people.’ He says ‘I am here for everyone.’ He has always been there any time that I have needed help.”
Remi’s father also instilled in his son the two most important values of the Native American heritage: respect of the environment and respect of the land.
“I try to make those values not only part of my job, but also my lifestyle,” Bald Eagle said.
It is those values and ethics that eventually led Bald Eagle to his civilian job. After he had graduated from college, Remi’s wife was offered a job in Ohio. She accepted and the family moved to a suburb of Cleveland. While looking for employment, he found his calling, working for an environmental company.
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“My company helps to clean oil spills, both big and small,” he explained. “I go wherever someone with my knowledge is needed.”
Remi said his job has been extremely fulfilling. He has helped clean oil spills all over the country, including one in San Francisco, CA., when a ship hit the Bay Bridge, spilling more than 60,000 gallons of oil into the bay.
Although he said he loves his civilian life, six years after leaving the Army, Bald Eagle rejoined, this time with the Ohio National Guard, training as a combat engineer.
“I came back in because I wanted a chance to give back and volunteer my time. I realized that no organization has ever done more to help people out than the military,” he said.
In looking back on his life, Remi has come far from his childhood at Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Reservation. As he’s grown into a man with his own family, he’s also seen the earlier racial tensions against Native Americans improve over the years.
“There is no longer a stigma associated with being a Native American that I can sense. I no longer see any of the misconceptions or stereotypes that were prevalent when I was younger,” he said.
Today, Remi loves it when people ask him about his heritage.
“It is a good ice-breaker. I am always willing to discuss it with people who ask me about it.”
Remi is extremely proud to discuss is his father’s accomplishments and what he has done for race relations.
“My father was elected as the first Chief of the United Native Nations.”
David Bald Eagle is an Ambassador for the United Native Nations and is involved in many other organizations. He focuses on helping Native American tribes and other tribes around the world, build relationships with their governments.
“My father helps not just the Lakota people, but any tribe that may need his help,” said Bald Eagle.
Although he has represented his heritage well, both as a Soldier and a civilian, Remi Bald Eagle believes that that there are some United States citizens who don’t realize that Native Americans still exist.
“I hope that the Native American people do not slip into the pages of history and no one reads the final chapter.” |
