View source for Native Americans and World War II

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{{Use American English|date = April 2019}}
{{Use mdy dates|date = April 2019}}
[[File:General douglas macarthur meets american indian troops wwii military pacific navajo pima island hopping.JPG|thumb|[[General officer|General]] [[Douglas MacArthur]] meeting Navajo, [[Pima people|O'odham]], [[Pawnee people|Pawnee]] and other native troops on 31 December 1943.]]
[[File:Navajo Indian communication men with the Marines on Saipan landed with the first assault waves to his the beach. - NARA - 532526.tif|right|thumb|Navajo code talkers during the [[Battle of Saipan]] in 1944.]]

As many as 25,000 '''Native Americans in World War II''' fought actively: 21,767 in the Army, 1,910 in the Navy, 874 in the Marines, 121 in the Coast Guard, and several hundred Native American women as nurses. These figures included over one-third of all able-bodied Native American men aged 18 to 50, and even included as high as seventy percent of the population of some tribes. The first Native American to be killed in WWII was Henry E. Nolatubby, a [[Chickasaw]] from [[Oklahoma]]. He was part of the Marine Detachment serving on the USS Arizona and went down with the ship during the Japanese [[attack on Pearl Harbor]] on December 7, 1941. Unlike [[Military history of African Americans#World War II|African Americans]] or [[military history of Asian Americans|Asian Americans]], Native Americans did not serve in segregated units, and served alongside white Americans.<ref name="Bernstein-1986">{{cite book|last1=Bernstein|first1=Alison R|title=Walking in Two Worlds: American Indians and World War Two|date=1986|publisher=Columbia University|location=New York|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LyVdnQEACAAJ|access-date=20 October 2017|format=Dissertation|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171020140310/https://books.google.com/books/about/Walking_in_Two_Worlds.html?id=LyVdnQEACAAJ&redir_esc=y|archive-date=October 20, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>

Alison R. Bernstein argues that World War II presented the first large-scale exodus of Native Americans from reservations since the reservation system began and that it presented an opportunity for many Native Americans to leave reservations and enter the "white world." For many soldiers, World War II represented the first interracial contact for natives living on relatively isolated reservations.<ref name="Bernstein-1986" />{{RP|67}}

==Prewar==

Although Native Americans were not [[Selective Service Act of 1917|drafted for World War I]] because they were not yet considered citizens of the United States, approximately 10,000 Native American men volunteered for duty.<ref name= "Bernstein-1986" />{{RP|33}}

According to Bernstein, life on reservations was difficult for Native Americans prior to the war due to low levels of development and lack of economic opportunities. In 1939, the median income for Native American males living on reservations was $500, compared to the national average for males of $2,300.<ref name="Bernstein-1986" />{{RP|24}} Nearly one quarter of Native Americans had no [[formal education]], and even for high school graduates, few forms of conventional employment existed on reservations.<ref name="Bernstein-1986" />{{RP|25}} In the absence of conventional employment, those Native Americans who stayed on the reservations generally worked the land and farmed.<ref name="Bernstein-1986" />{{RP|26}}

Native American men were included along with whites in the [[Selective Training and Service Act of 1940|World War II draft]]. Initial reactions by Native Americans to the draft were mixed. While some were eager to join the military, others resisted. Bernstein argues that their still-questionable status as citizens of the United States at the outbreak of the Second World War made many Native Americans question volunteering for military service since "the Federal government had the power to force Indians to serve in the military but did not have the power to compel [[Mississippi]] to grant Indians the vote."<ref name= "Bernstein-1986" />{{RP|38}} Although some resisted the draft, many others who were not drafted still volunteered for the war.

==Native service==
Against a background of the popular Hollywood image of the Native American warrior spirit in American popular culture, Native American men were generally regarded highly by their fellow soldiers, and their role appealed to the public. They first saw action in the [[Pacific War|Pacific Theater]] along with the rest of the US Army and Navy. The first known Native American casualty of war was a young Oklahoma man who died during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.<ref name="Bernstein-1986" />{{RP|78}}

Over the course of the war, Native American men fought across the world on all fronts, and were involved in many of the most critical battles involving American troops, including [[Battle of Iwo Jima|Iwo Jima]]—the site of [[Ira Hayes]]' triumphant moment in the famous photograph of ''[[Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima]]'' with five of his fellow Marines—the [[invasion of Normandy]], the [[Philippines Campaign (1944–45)|liberation of the Philippines]], the [[Battle of the Bulge]], the [[liberation of Paris]], and the [[Liberation of Belgium (1944)|liberation of Belgium]]. Native Americans were also among the first Americans to enter Germany and played a role in the [[Battle of Berlin|liberation of Berlin]].<ref name="Bernstein-1986" />{{RP|92}} Casualty reports showed Native Americans fighting as far away as Australia, North Africa, and Bataan.<ref name="Bernstein-1986" />{{RP|104}} Native American soldiers were sometimes mistaken by white American soldiers for Japanese soldiers and taken prisoner or fired upon.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Moyer |first1=Justin Wm. |title=Chester Nez, last of the World War II Navajo 'code talkers,' dead at 93 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2014/06/05/chester-nez-last-of-the-world-war-ii-navajo-code-talkers-dead-at-93/ |access-date=28 December 2018 |newspaper=[[Washington Post]] |date=June 5, 2014 |language=en |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181229031340/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2014/06/05/chester-nez-last-of-the-world-war-ii-navajo-code-talkers-dead-at-93/ |archive-date=December 29, 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Melton |first1=Brad |last2=Smith |first2=Dean |title=Arizona Goes to War: The Home Front and the Front Lines During World War II |date=2003 |publisher=University of Arizona Press |isbn=9780816521890 |page=71 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-_C-KOJc8XAC&q=william+mccabe+native+american+soldiers+mistaken+for+japanese+soldiers&pg=PA71 |access-date=28 December 2018 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Southwest Crossroads— Navajo Code Talkers |url=http://www.southwestcrossroads.org/record.php?num=741 |website=www.southwestcrossroads.org |access-date=28 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160506182814/http://southwestcrossroads.org/record.php?num=741 |archive-date=May 6, 2016 |url-status=live }}</ref>

One of the most significant benefits that Native American men and women obtained from the war effort were the honors they received for serving including [[pow wow]]s arranged prior to their deployment or upon their return.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/video/the-warrior-tradition-fkaz4h/|title=The Warrior Tradition &#124; The Warrior Tradition|via=www.pbs.org|access-date=March 13, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191115052715/https://www.pbs.org/video/the-warrior-tradition-fkaz4h/|archive-date=November 15, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> Another benefit were the new skills that could be gained that might lead to better jobs. Due to both the waning sense of isolation on reservations brought on by the war and the influx of money, Native Americans began to have access to consumer goods and services. The average Native American income increased to $2,500 by 1944, two-and-a-half times greater than in 1940. However, the average salary of a Native American was still only a quarter of the average salary of a white American.<ref name="Bernstein-1986" />{{RP|100}}

More than 30 Native Americans were awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, the third-highest aviation honor.<ref name="Bernstein-1986" />{{RP|88}} Not counting the [[Purple Heart]], more than 200&nbsp;military awards were awarded to Native Americans.<ref name="Bernstein-1986" />{{RP|103}} The most decorated Native American in the history of the [[United States Army]] is [[Pascal Poolaw]], who, after World War&nbsp;II, went on the serve in the [[Korean War]] and the [[Vietnam War]], earning a [[Distinguished Service Cross (United States)|Distinguished Service Cross]], four [[Silver Star Medal|Silver Stars]], five [[Bronze Star Medal|Bronze Stars]], and three [[Purple Heart]]s. Although many Native Americans received recognition for their military service in terms of awards, these awards were later used during the [[Indian termination policy|termination period]] by the Bureau of Indian Affairs as proof that Native Americans were eager to assimilate into American culture.{{citation needed|date=October 2017}}

==Navajo code talkers project==
{{Native American topics sidebar}}
In February 1942, a civilian named Philip Johnston came up with the idea of using the Navajo language as military code. Johnston, a missionaries' son, grew up on a reservation and understood the complexity of the Navajo language. By September 1942, the American government had recruited several hundred Native Americans who spoke both Navajo and English to translate English words into the [[Navajo language]] to foil enemy understanding. Often working behind enemy lines, the [[code talker]]s were commended for their bravery and gained respect from fellow soldiers.<ref name="Bernstein-1986" />{{RP|83}} At its declassification in 1968, the code that these Navajo developed was the only oral military code that was not broken by an enemy.<ref name="NYT-20140605">{{cite news|last1=Fox|first1=Margalit|title=Chester Nez, 93, Dies; Navajo Words Washed From Mouth Helped Win War|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/06/us/chester-nez-dies-at-93-his-native-tongue-helped-to-win-a-war-of-words.html?_r=0|access-date=20 October 2017|work=New York Times|date=2014-06-05|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171020140619/https://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/06/us/chester-nez-dies-at-93-his-native-tongue-helped-to-win-a-war-of-words.html?_r=0|archive-date=October 20, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>

The code itself was composed of carefully selected Navajo words that used [[Circumlocution|poetic circumlocution]] so that even a Navajo-speaker would not be able to understand the communications without training. For example, there were no words in Navajo for military machines, weapons, or foreign countries, so these words were substituted with words that did exist in the Navajo language. For example, Britain was spoken as "between waters" (toh-ta), a dive bomber was a "chicken hawk" (gini), a grenade was a "potato" (ni-ma-si) and Germany was "iron hat" (besh-be-cha-he).<ref name="NYT-20140605" />

In 2001, 28 Navajo Code Talkers were awarded [[Congressional Gold Medal]]s, mostly posthumously. The group has also been commemorated in various media, including books, films, notably [[Windtalkers|''Windtalkers'' (2002)]] starring Nicolas Cage, ''Battle Cry'' starring Van Heflin, even a Navajo Code Talker [[GI Joe]] action figure.<ref name="NYT-20140605" />

==Postwar==
The war's aftermath, says [[Alison Bernstein]], marked a "new era in Indian affairs" and turned "American Indians" into "Indian Americans."
<ref name="Bernstein-1999">{{cite book|last1=Bernstein|first1=Alison R.|title=American Indians and World War II: Toward a New Era in Indian Affairs|date=1999|publisher=University of Oklahoma Press|location=Norman|isbn=0806131845|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MbeAH3ebF6YC|access-date=20 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171020140340/https://books.google.com/books/about/American_Indians_and_World_War_II.html?id=MbeAH3ebF6YC&redir_esc=y|archive-date=October 20, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>{{RP|159}}

Upon returning to the US after the war, some Native American servicemen and women suffered from [[post-traumatic stress disorder]] and unemployment. Following the war, many Native Americans found themselves living in cities, rather than on reservations. In 1940, only five percent of Native Americans lived in cities, but by 1950, the number had ballooned to nearly 20 percent.<ref name="Bernstein-1999"/>{{RP|153}}

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:Poston, Arizona. Apache Indians assist in the unloading of beds for evacuees of Japanese ancestry a . . . - NARA - 536128.tif|Apaches assisting in the unloading of beds for [[Empire of Japan|Japan]]ese internees at the [[Poston War Relocation Center]] on April 29, 1942.
File:Photograph of Three Marine Corps Women Reservists, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, 10-16-1943 - NARA - 535876.tif|Native American women as [[Marine Corps Reserve|Marine Corps Reservists]] at [[Camp Lejeune]] in 1943. The women here represent the [[Blackfoot Confederacy|Blackfeet]], the [[Potawatomi]], and the [[Ojibwe]]. 
File:Pfc. Ira H. Hayes, a Pima, at age 19, ready to jump, Marine Corps Paratroop School, 1943 - NARA - 519164.tif|[[Private First Class]] [[Ira Hayes]], who was a Pima, preparing to parachute out of an aircraft in 1943.
File:Lt. Woody J. Cochran holding a Japanese flag, New Guinea, 04-01-1943 - NARA - 519155.jpg|Lieutenant Woody J. Cochran, a Cherokee Indian and bomber pilot, holding up a captured Japanese flag and Nambu pistol during the [[New Guinea campaign]] on April 1, 1943.
File:Dan waupose.jpg|Dan Waupoose, a [[Menominee]] [[Tribal chief|chief]], training at [[Algiers, Louisiana]], on August 24, 1943.
File:Lt. Ernest Childers, a Creek, being congratulated by Gen. Jacob L. Devers after receiving the Congressional Medal of Hon - NARA - 535783restoredh.jpg|Lieutenant [[Ernest Childers]], a [[Muscogee (Creek)|Muscogee]], being congratulated by General [[Jacob L. Devers]] shortly after receiving the [[Medal of Honor]] in 1944.
File:Poston, Arizona. Mrs. A.D. Franchville, Superintendent of Home Economics on detail to Poston from D . . . - NARA - 539890.jpg|Hopi Indians at the Poston Center in September 1945, after it was turned over to the [[Colorado River Indian Reservation]].
File:Dan Akee, Navajo Code Talker.jpg|Dan Akee, a [[code talker]] from the [[Navajo Nation]].
File:Native American and Alaska Native World War II veterans.pdf|Percentage of Native American and Alaskan Native World War II veterans as of the 2010 US Census
File:USMC-07737.jpg|A Navajo Code Talker relays a message on a field radio. The code talkers served in the South Pacific during World War II and were kept a secret until 1968 when the Navajo code was finally declassified.
</gallery>

==See also  ==
*[[Apache Scouts]] - A division of the [[United States Army Indian Scouts]]
*[[Arizona during World War II#Native Americans|Arizona during World War II]]
*[[Alaska Territorial Guard]] - A military reserve force known as the Eskimo Scouts
*[[Charles Norman Shay]] - A Penobscot Maine tribal elder who served in World War II both as a master sergeant and a certified medical technician
*[[Machita incident]] - A high-profile instance of resistance to the draft among Indians in southern Arizona
*''[[Windtalkers]]'' - A film depicting Navajo code talkers during the war
*[[Native Americans in the American Civil War]]
*[[Code talker]]
*[[Joseph Medicine Crow]] - was a World War II veteran, serving as a scout in the 103rd Infantry Division of the U.S. Army. He received the Bronze Star Medal and the Légion d'honneur for his service during World War II. He was the last war chief of the Crow Tribe and the last Plains Indian war chief.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20170327110226/http://www.shsu.edu/~his_ncp/NAWWII.html "Native Americans in World War II"] article excerpt
* [http://www.nwbshoshone-nsn.gov/culture/history/wwii.htm Shoshone in World War II]
* [http://www.history.army.mil/html/topics/natam/index.html Native Americans in the United States Army Portal] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120129041708/http://www.history.army.mil/html/topics/natam/index.html |date=January 29, 2012 }} at the [[United States Army Center of Military History]]

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[[Category:Military history of Native Americans]]
[[Category:American military personnel of World War II]]
[[Category:Military history of the United States during World War II]]
[[Category:20th-century Native American people|-]]
[[Category:Native American history]]