The Warrior Tradition

  For Indian men, we set the classic example of the hunter-gatherer-protector of our family, clan, and tribe.  After the arrival of the white man, the Indian world was turned on it’s head.  When the settling of the west was all said and done, the catch-word was assimilation.  Indeed, there was a big push by the government to turn us all into farmers.  Our history was as proud warriors and our future was a plowshare.

  After the Indian wars of the 1880’s, the children of the day knew first-hand the stories of their fathers and uncles.  Knew what it meant to fight to protect the women and children.  Knew what it meant to fight for this country.

  Just one generation later, the United States is drawn into World War I and the Natives of this country see an opportunity.  Not only to reclaim ancestral heritage as a warrior, but as an opportunity to prove to the greater population of the U.S. that they’re equals in the modern era.  Racism and the attitudes toward Native Americans were still fresh in the mind of the American public too.

  The stories of the battles, military achievements and counting coup were once again heard around home fires on the reservation.  A generation later when World War II broke out, Natives came out in defense of this country like no other ethnic group.

  The government had hoped that the remote reservation lands would turn us all into farmers but our people have a mind and a fighting spirit of our own.

Native American Almanac, Prentice Hall, 1993:

  Native Americans have served loyally in every branch of the military during the 20th century.  As News From Indian Country reported in a 1991 lead story titled, “American Indians Proud of Service Record:”  “In some tribal communities across the country, you can find families in which every single son, and in some cases the daughters , have served in the armed forces of one branch or another.”

World War I        1917-1918        12,000 served, nearly all volunteers
World War II        1941-1945        25,000 served (21,767 Army; 1,910 in Navy; 874 Marines; and, 121 Coast Guard)
Vietnam              1965-1975         42,500 served (10,829 Army; 24,000 Navy; 2,450 Marines; and, 5,237 Air Force)
Persian Gulf       1991                   3,000 served

  American Indians have played prominent roles in the military history of this country since its very beginning.  The number of Indians receiving Medals of Honor attests to this.  Created in 1861, the Medal of Honor is given to candidates whose acts “far exceeded any just demand of duty.”
  From 1872 to 1952, twenty four Native Americans have been granted the Medal of Honor.  Eleven were Apaches; four Seminole; two each of Cherokee, Creek, and Pawnee; a Winnebago; a Choctaw; and one Native whose tribe was not indicated.

Native American Medal of Honor Recipients:
http://www.history.navy.mil/faqs/faq61-3.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Native_American_Medal_of_Honor_recipients
 

50th Anniversary of WWII Commemoration Committee
Pentagon Fact Sheet on The Warrior Tradition

  Native Americans began enlisting in the late 1930’s when the Armed Forces began to mobilize.  The motivating factor was pride of service.  Peer pressure was extremely strong.  As many Indians returned home on leave, they asked their friends why they hadn’t enlisted yet.  Ninety-nine percent of all eligible Native Americans registered for the draft, setting a national standard.

  On Dec. 7, 1941, there were 5,000 Indians in the service.  By the end of the war more than 44,500 Indians served in uniform, 24,521 Indians from reservations and 20,000 from off-reserve communities.  The combined total was more than 10 percent of the Native American population during the war; and one-third of the able bodied Indian men from 18-50 years of age.

  Some Navajo and members of other tribes were so eager to fight that they stood in line for hours, during adverse weather, to sign their draft cards.  Some even carried their own rifles so they would be ready for battle when they joined.  Unwilling to wait for their draft numbers, one-fourth of the Mescalero Apaches in New Mexico enlisted.  Nearly all the able bodied Chippewas at the Grand Portage Reservation enlisted.

  Annual enlistment for Native Americans soared from 7,500 in the summer of 1942, to 22,000 at the beginning of 1945.  War Department officials maintained that if the entire population had enlisted in the same proportion as the Indians, they would have rendered the Selective Service unnecessary.

Overview of Native American Military History:
http://www.historynet.com/culture/native_american_history