美国国家公共电台 NPR--A memorial for Native American veterans has been years in the making

A memorial for Native American veterans has been years in the making

Transcript¹

The National Museum of the American Indian holds a dedication² ceremony Friday for a memorial honoring Native veterans.

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Native American veterans will be in Washington, D.C., this afternoon for the dedication of a memorial honoring their service. It's at the National Museum of the American Indian. And this memorial was years in the making. NPR's Quil Lawrence talked with the Vietnam veteran who designed it.

QUIL LAWRENCE, BYLINE³: Harvey Phillip Pratt is an artist from Oklahoma, a Vietnam veteran and a member of the Cheyenne and Arapaho Nations. He wanted to design a memorial that would appeal to the nearly 600 federally recognized American Indian tribes and Alaska Native villages, as well as Native Hawaiians.

HARVEY PHILLIP PRATT: I could reach these tribes through circles and pathways and cardinal⁴ points and sacred colors and a song.

LAWRENCE: War songs play over speakers incorporated into the design in a tranquil⁵ grove⁶ next to the museum on the National Mall. It's a circular, granite⁷ bench around a pool of water and an intricately carved stone drum. In the middle of the pool, a giant steel circle rests on its edge.

PRATT: And then a fire and a big steel circle, which is a hole in the sky where the creator lives. And we have the earth and the air. And I thought, those are things that we all use, sacred fires, sacred water.

LAWRENCE: Elements used by many tribes in ceremonies, including, Pratt says, age-old healing of what's now called PTSD from war. A tall steel lance stands at each of the cardinal directions, with rings so visitors can tie on prayer cloths.

PRATT: Not all tribes use those, but many - a lot of them do. A prayer cloth is a - you can say a prayer into that cloth for your veterans or for the family or for someone who's passed. And when the wind blows, that prayer goes out every time it shakes that prayer cloth.

CYNTHIA CHAVEZ LAMAR: Unfortunately, in American society, you know, American Indians are pretty invisible.

LAWRENCE: Cynthia Chavez Lamar directs the National Museum of the American Indian. She's a member of the San Felipe Pueblo⁸ and the first Native woman to head a Smithsonian museum.

LAMAR: The memorial is one way to represent, to make us visible.

LAWRENCE: To remind the public, she says, that American Indians have served in huge numbers going back to the Revolutionary War, despite a painful history.

LAMAR: We've lost lands. We've been disenfranchised in different ways. But at the end of the day, you know, we're going to fight for this country. And I'm just, you know, thankful that the museum is able to do a little part to honor that service.

LAWRENCE: Harvey Pratt says the memorial celebrates warriors⁹ who defended their land and their people.

PRATT: Their blood is spilt all over this land. And we have spilt Native American blood all over this earth defending this land. And that - we will continue to defend it.

LAWRENCE: Thousands of Native veterans are expected to attend the dedication of the memorial later today on the National Mall.

Quil Lawrence, NPR News.

(SOUNDBITE OF TASH SULTANA SONG, "NOTION")

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 dedication   

n.奉献，献身，致力，题献，献辞

参考例句：

• We admire her courage,compassion and dedication.我们钦佩她的勇气、爱心和奉献精神。
• Her dedication to her work was admirable.她对工作的奉献精神可钦可佩。

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 cardinal   

n.(天主教的)红衣主教；adj.首要的，基本的

参考例句：

• This is a matter of cardinal significance.这是非常重要的事。
• The Cardinal coloured with vexation. 红衣主教感到恼火，脸涨得通红。

5 tranquil   

adj. 安静的, 宁静的, 稳定的, 不变的

参考例句：

• The boy disturbed the tranquil surface of the pond with a stick. 那男孩用棍子打破了平静的池面。
• The tranquil beauty of the village scenery is unique. 这乡村景色的宁静是绝无仅有的。

6 grove   

n.林子，小树林，园林

参考例句：

• On top of the hill was a grove of tall trees.山顶上一片高大的树林。
• The scent of lemons filled the grove.柠檬香味充满了小树林。

7 granite   

adj.花岗岩，花岗石

参考例句：

• They squared a block of granite.他们把一块花岗岩加工成四方形。
• The granite overlies the older rocks.花岗岩躺在磨损的岩石上面。

8 pueblo   

n.（美国西南部或墨西哥等）印第安人的村庄

参考例句：

• For over 2,000 years,Pueblo peoples occupied a vast region of the south-western United States.在长达2，000多年的时间里，印第安人统治着现在美国西南部的大片土地。
• The cross memorializes the Spanish victims of the 1680 revolt,when the region's Pueblo Indians rose up in violent protest against their mistreatment and burned the cit

9 warriors   

武士，勇士，战士( warrior的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• I like reading the stories ofancient warriors. 我喜欢读有关古代武士的故事。
• The warriors speared the man to death. 武士们把那个男子戳死了。