; Whereas there are currently 28,000 American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian women veterans; Whereas American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian women overcame significant historical barriers to women’s enlistment in the military, including Minnie Spotted Wolf (Blackfeet Nation), the first Native American woman in the United States Marine Corps in 1943; Whereas American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian women struggle for equity and are paid just 63 cents for every dollar paid to White men; Whereas more than 4 in 5 American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian women have experienced violence in their lifetime, and more than half of American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian women have experienced sexual violence; and Whereas despite significant challenges including the chronic lack of Federal funding in Indian Country and unequal pay, disparities in education, unmet health care needs, and civil rights violations, American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian women continue to break through and thrive: Now, therefore, be it