Revered and beloved Native elder Lillian L. Lujan has died
Proud Diné woman was 104 when she passed away at Taos Pueblo
At 104 years old when she passed, Lillian Licheze Lujan had lived a life filled with many loving relatives, and decades of tradition, respect and patriotic service.
Lujan died peacefully with family at Taos Pueblo on March 6, and was interred with military honors March 10 at the National Veterans Cemetery in Santa Fe, where her late husband Jimmy K. Lujan Sr. is also buried.
Lujan was a proud Dine woman of Ashiihnii (Salt People Clan), born for Tabaahaa (Water Edge People). She was born in 1918 in Coalmine, Ariz., “the daughter of the late Mr. and Mrs. Charlie Young,” according to the 25th Navajo Nation Council. Upon learning of her death, the Council’s Naabik’íyáti’ Committee paid tribute to Lujan with a moment of silence on March 9.
The following day, Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren proclaimed March 10, 2023 “Lillian Lujan Day,” a day of recognition and remembrance of Women’s Army Corps Sergeant E-5 Lillian L. Lujan.
A relative of Lillian Lujan, Taos Pueblo Gov. Gary J. Lujan said he “first met Aunt Lillian, as a child when my family traveled to Kayenta, Ariz., for a family visit. Later while studying architecture in Arizona, I once again visited with her and my uncle. Though years apart, in each of those visits, I always remembered her infectious smile and enduring embraces of acceptance. Even in her later years, residing here at Taos Pueblo, she still maintained those qualities, reminding you in her own way that you mattered to her, she loved and respected everyone.”
She attended Albuquerque Indian School and New Mexico Highlands University in Las Vegas, N.M. After graduation she joined the Women’s Army Corps on Jan. 28, 1943. She served in the Detachment 3809th Command Unit, according to the Council statement. She served as an occupational counselor and was stationed in Gallup, N.M., Tulsa, Okla., and Fort Sam Houston, Texas.
She was Honorably Discharged on Dec. 4, 1945 and was awarded the Good Conduct Medal, Victory Ribbon, American Theater Campaign Medal and the Women’s Army Corp Ribbon.
“The Navajo Nation and Navajo people are so proud of its veterans,” President Nygren said in a statement. “But we are especially proud to honor and recognize those of the Greatest Generation like Lillian Lujan who selflessly left the safety of the remote Navajo Reservation of the 1940s, entered World War II and served to protect their homeland and the United States. Mrs. Lujan lived a full life to 104 years. We all regret her passing and the opportunity to meet one of the last veterans of an historic era.”
‘New Mexico Brigade’
Her grandson, Delane Atcitty, whose family owns Atcitty Gallery on Taos Plaza, said he remembered a story from when she was helping the military recruiting effort during World War II at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio.
“Out of there, “he said, “she recruited a lot of the tribal nations in Oklahoma and then her main area, where she recruited toward the end of the war, was in Gallup, N.M. And, so, I remember one story she told me was that the Navajo men were so eager to fight that they brought their own guns and their sleeping rolls in their bag, along with canned foods, and they were ready to go. And she had to send them home because, she told them, the Army furnishes all that, but these guys were, you know, ready to roll from the start. It’s pretty remarkable.”
Atcitty said he agreed with statements from other Native veterans that service in the American military, while combatants in generations past, was often seen as protecting their own homelands and tribal people from foreign enemies. Atcitty said that he knew of three of his grandfather’s brothers who joined up.
When he joined, Jimmy K. Lujan, Lorraine’s future husband, was among the approximately 1,800 men from the 200th and 515th Coast Artillery Regiment — also known as the “New Mexico Brigade,” which was deployed to the Philippines in September 1941, during World War II, according to the Taos Historical Society.
It was this group, many of whom were from Taos, who were overrun and surrendered to Japanese troops, then forced to endure the infamous Bataan Death March on April 9, 1942. “The captive soldiers were marched for days, approximately 65 miles through the scorching jungles of the Philippines. Thousands died. Those who survived faced the hardships of prisoner of war camps and the brutality of their Japanese captors. The POWs would not see freedom until 1945 when U.S.-Filipino forces recaptured the lost territory,” a history at bataanmarch.com states.
Atcitty said there was a strange twist to this story as it pertained to his grandparents. “The military told my grandma that (Jimmy K.) had died.” Apparently, a male relative with a similar name had died, but it was not Jimmy K. Lujan. “And, so, she spent at least a couple years thinking that he was dead and she ran into his sister from Taos Pueblo. They were at a woman’s conference in Albuquerque and she said ‘You know, haven’t you spoken to Jimmy K? And my grandma says, ‘No, he’s gone.’ And, his sister tells my grandma, ‘No, he’s very much alive.’”
Atcitty said Jimmy K. Lujan had to spend about a year in a hospital in San Francisco recovering from his abuse at a Japanese prisoner of war camp. “He weighed like 92 pounds when he came home,” Atcitty said. After that, they were reunited, got married and lived in Roswell, where they had four kids. Lillian worked for the Navajo Nation with the Bureau of Indian Affairs in aiding in job placement, teaching home economics and helping with 4-H Clubs.
Taos Pueblo tribal member Jimmy K. Lujan Sr. died in 1993.
‘Woman warrior’
Lillian Lujan was a beloved matriarch, largely due to the inspiration she passed down as a result of her experiences. Both she and Jimmy K. Lujan went to Bureau of Indian Affairs boarding schools, which have made headlines recently for alleged mistreatment of Native students, but going from that environment to the military virtually prepared them for anything. “It was like a piece of cake,” Atcitty said she would tell her kids. “Stand at attention, clean their beds, a lot of cleanliness, you know … I know when I was a kid and they told you to do something you do it, no question.”
This structure, Atcitty said, set the tone for the whole family. “Many of us have gone on to college and graduate degrees and really a lot of us are contributing back to our tribal Nations. So, you know, that really makes my Grandma happy.” Atcitty himself operates Indian Nations Conservation Alliance, a nonprofit helping tribal Nations establish conservation districts. Cherilyn Atcitty, who is married to Delane Atcitty, operates Atcitty’s Gallery of Native American Arts at the corner of Paseo del Pueblo Norte and Kit Carson Road.
“The Navajo Nation appreciates Mrs. Lillian Lujan, the oldest Woman Warrior who served in the United States Army during World War II. In 2022, the Navajo Nation passed CAP-24-22 which recognizes the first day of spring as a day to honor Navajo Women Warriors. On March 20, 2023, Council will commemorate Navajo Women Warriors who currently are serving or who have served in the military. Ms. Lujan will be remembered at that time as she exemplifies a Woman Warrior. We send our condolences to her family and thank her for her courage and strength,” said Council Delegate Eugenia Charles-Newton (Shiprock) in the Council statement.
On Navajo Nation Women Veterans Day on March 20, in honor of her distinguished service to the Navajo Nation, the Office of the President and Vice President and the Navajo Nation Veterans Administration made a posthumous award presentation to the family of Lillian L. Lujan.
“We cherish Sgt. Lujan’s service to our people and country. We are saddened by the loss of our woman warrior, but we recognize that she leaves behind a lasting legacy based on her honorable military service and the love and compassion that she had for her people. On behalf of the Navajo Nation Council, we offer prayers for strength and comfort for her family and loved ones as they lay her to rest,” said Speaker Crystalyne Curley (Tachee/Blue Gap, Many Farms, Nazlini, Tselani/Cottonwood, Low Mountain.
Lillian L. Lujan is survived by her son, Jimmy K. Lujan Jr. and his wife Lucy M. Lujan (Fruitland, N.M.), daughters Marilyn L. Atcitty (Flagstaff, Ariz.) and Karilyn L. Haozous (Albuquerque, N.M.). She was a beloved grandmother, great grandmother and great-great grandmother.
She is preceded in death by her husband Jimmy K. Lujan, Sr.; parents Mr. and Mrs. Charlie Young; and son Jeffery E. Lujan.