During World War I, 19 Choctaw soldiers pioneered the use of Native languages in wartime communication to limited fanfare.

In 1990, he invited some Choctaw tribal members to lead Afri’s commemorative Famine Walk, which takes place every year in County Mayo, and they made Mullan an honorary chief of the Choctaw Nation.

Get the latest news headlines and top stories from NBCNews.com. Find videos and news articles on the latest stories in the US.