The U.S. Navy will christen the first ship in the new Navajo Class of vessels named to honor Native American contributions to the armed forces.
The USNS Navajo is a towing, salvage and rescue ship and will officially be put into service in Louisiana during a ceremony Saturday.
Ten vessels will make up the Navajo Class and others will be named for the Cherokee, Muscogee Creek and other Indigenous nations.
In 2019, then-Secretary of the Navy Richard V. Spencer announced the new ship class and said Native Americans have fought with valor in nearly every major conflict since the founding of the nation.
The late Arizona Senator John McCain was an early advocate for creating the Navajo Class.