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Memorial for Native American veterans unveiled at Riverside National Cemetery

May 2, 2026

Riverside now has the first monument at a U.S. national cemetery to honor American Indian and Alaska Native American veterans.

The new American Indian Veterans Memorial was unveiled and dedicated at Riverside National Cemetery on Saturday, May 2. After decades in development and construction, the memorial plaza is now complete near the cemetery’s amphitheater by a lake on the property’s southern side.

Sam Gonzalez (front), and Davis Stewart (back), salute the flag during the singing of the national anthem at the dedication of the American Indian Veterans Memorial at the Riverside National Cemetery on Saturday, May 2, 2026. (Photo by John Valenzuela/Contributing Photographer)

Indigenous singer and dancer Henri Mascorro inside the plaza of the memorial during the dedication of the American Indian Veterans Memorial at the Riverside National Cemetery on Saturday, May 2, 2026. The ceremony, organized by the American Indian Alaska Native Veterans Memorial Committee, included a program at the amphitheater, and a procession to the memorial plaza. (Photo by John Valenzuela/Contributing Photographer)(Photo by John Valenzuela/Contributing Photographer)

Dean Barrera 7, of Oceanside with his father Dennis Barrera during the dedication of the American Indian Veterans Memorial at the Riverside National Cemetery on Saturday, May 2, 2026. The ceremony, organized by the American Indian Alaska Native Veterans Memorial Committee, included a program at the amphitheater, a procession to the memorial plaza, bird singing and other activities, with participation from tribes including the Morongo Band of Mission Indians and the Yuhaaviatam of San Manuel Nation. (Photo by John Valenzuela/Contributing Photographer)

Members of Native American tribes and veterans gather during the dedication of the American Indian Veterans Memorial at the Riverside National Cemetery on Saturday, May 2, 2026. The ceremony, organized by the American Indian Alaska Native Veterans Memorial Committee, included a program at the amphitheater and a procession to the memorial plaza. (Photo by John Valenzuela/Contributing Photographer)

Dark Isle Piper Tress Maksimuk and indigenous singer and dancer Henri Mascorro at the memorial during the dedication of the American Indian Veterans Memorial at the Riverside National Cemetery on Saturday, May 2, 2026. The ceremony, organized by the American Indian Alaska Native Veterans Memorial Committee, included a program at the amphitheater, and a procession to the memorial plaza. (Photo by John Valenzuela/Contributing Photographer)

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The more than $3 million project was funded through community donations spearheaded by the American Indian Alaska Native Veterans Memorial Committee, the Riverside National Cemetery Support Committee, the Morongo Band of Mission Indians and tribes and businesses.

The dedication was joined by Morongo Band of Mission Indians Chairman Charles Martin; Rep. Mark Takano, D-Riverside; the families of Native American veterans; and Elliott Morris Jr., the son of the late Navajo code talker and World War II veteran Joe Morris Sr., who is buried at the cemetery.

A procession to the memorial, where “Amazing Grace” was sung, honored those who died on the Trail of Tears. The event also featured traditional bird singing, drums and dancing.

Sharron Savage, chairperson of the memorial committee who has overseen the plaza’s development for over two decades, said it started as a dream of late Morongo Band of Mission Indians Chairman Maurice Lyons.

Lyons, who also served on the Riverside National Cemetery’s board when its POW/MIA monument was erected, envisioned a monument to honor the thousands of Native American veterans who served and fought for the nation.

Lyons, with help from late U.S. Air Force General Stan Brown, won approval to construct the monument in 2006.

Savage, who has Native American ancestry from a tribe in Lake Superior, said before the dedication that she was “humbled” to see the full memorial finally done.

“Unity” was always the committee’s goal, she said.

“This took a whole team,” Savage said. “(People) have worked so hard on this, all voluntarily. For me, it’s not only being able to see the memorial completed, but all of the friendships, and additional Indigenous cultural knowledge learned … and the families who have bonded.”

Savage said that not enough people know that a large number of American Indians served in the U.S. military — more than any other racial or ethnic group. American Indians and Alaska Natives served in the Armed Forces at five times the national average, and with distinction, in every major conflict for over 200 years, according to the National Indian Council on Aging. Native people have the highest per-capita involvement of any population to serve in the U.S. military, including nearly 20% women.

“People are finally being counted and respected,” Savage said.

The memorial is centered around the A. Thomas Schomberg 12-foot sculpture “The Gift,” which portrays a Native American veteran wearing the original 13-star American flag. It was first displayed at the Riverside cemetery in 2019. Schomberg also sculpted the “West Coast War Dog” memorial at the March Field Air Museum, across the 215 Freeway from the cemetery, to honor military canine heroes and their handlers.

Over its development, several changes and additions were made to the long-awaited memorial’s design — including adding red, yellow, black and white colors of mosaic tiles around the statue, which had been stored and displayed temporarily before moving to its permanent home at the plaza.

The Native American figure “represents all tribes,” Savage said, with a single eagle feather in his hair, dressed in moccasins and without a war bonnet. It also faces east, which organizers said was important to Native American tribes.

“We want this to be about the beauty of the statue, but also a complete learning experience for those visiting,” she added. “We tried to design it to (focus on) the Indigenous culture.”

Around the new memorial are granite blocks on which people can sit and reflect, and sculptures of eagles in the plaza entryway. A dry creek bed in the landscaping honors the natural role that water plays in life and in Native American culture, Savage said.

The nearly 40-feet-wide plaza, near the amphitheater, is beside a lake with a small waterfall, which Savage said was a strategic placement on the cemetery grounds because of the site’s tranquility.

After receiving approval from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and funds were raised over the past two decades, construction on the memorial started earlier this year — and was “remarkably” finished within 10 weeks, Savage said.

The Riverside National Cemetery is now home to five memorials on its sprawling grounds — including memorials dedicated to POW/MIA, Medal of Honor recipients, U.S. Armed Forces veterans and its newest, the Gold Star Family memorial, dedicated in 2023.

Jim Gore, chairman of the Riverside National Cemetery Support Committee, said the project has “been a long time coming.”

“It should have been built years and years ago, to recognize and honor the sacrifices and contributions our Native American veterans have made,” Gore said.

Savage agreed, saying “American Indians have fought for this land, for their country, before it even became a country.”

Memorial for Native American veterans unveiled at Riverside National Cemetery Orange County Register

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Memorial for Native American veterans unveiled at Riverside National Cemetery

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