06/13/2026
"It gave us a little bit of comfort. We were doing something that we'd be doing if we were back home. We were also introducing something brand new to people that didn't have a clue, and we were representing the state of Oklahoma. We were representing the Oklahoma National Guard. We were representing Oklahoma Native American tribes and pride, and we were representing ourselves individually."—Sergeant Debra Kay Mooney (Choctaw)
Sergeant Mooney organized the first powwow documented to have taken place in a combat zone. On September 17 and 18, 2004, the 120th Engineer Combat Battalion held an intertribal powwow at Al Taqqadum Air Base. During the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the battalion had the highest proportion of American Indians—20 percent—of any military unit in the combat zone. Mooney's efforts, alongside her fellow Native soldiers, were aimed at educating their non-Indian comrades about American Indian cultural traditions.
Central to every powwow is the drum. Mooney said, "If we couldn't get a drum, we couldn't have a powwow....[T]he drum is the heartbeat, the spirit of the Native American." This drum in particular was made with materials found on base. The body is made from a discarded 55-gallon oil barrel and the top of canvas from a cot. Native soldiers sent home for their regalia and accoutrements, rehearsed dances and songs between duties, and prepared traditional foods. Mooney recalled "We all joined together, it was just like being at home."
Mooney's dedication to bringing her community together continued after she returned home. She served as a member of the museum's National Native American Veterans Memorial Advisory Committee. Learn more about Native military service with our exhibition "Why We Serve". https://americanindian.si.edu/why-we-serve/
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Drum, titled "Desert Thunder", and drumsticks used in a two-day powwow at Al Taqaddum Air Base near Fallujah, Iraq, 2004. Made by 120th Engineer Combat Battalion. Metal, wood, hide, twine, nylon cord, adhesive tape, plastic, nails; 45 × 61 × 62 cm. (drum); length 49, 49, and 60 cm. (drumsticks). Gift of Sergeant Debra K. Mooney and 120th Engineer Combat Battalion. 26/5148
