Honoring Native American Soldiers' World War I Service
Patriotism at a cost
During World War I, an estimated 12,000 Native American soldiers served in the U.S. military, and tens of thousands of Native Americans supported the war at home by working in war industries, purchasing war bonds, and assisting in war relief efforts. American Indian soldiers were praised for their bravery at the front, but stereotypes about Native Americans as natural "warriors" led to dangerous combat assignments that resulted in higher casualty rates than those for white soldiers. On the homefront, the government justified increased loss of tribal land as a "war measure."
American Indians volunteered to serve despite a long history of discrimination against indigenous people and their traditional culture. Many Native Americans weren't even recognized as U.S. citizens. In honor of National American Indian Heritage Month and Veterans Day, these World War I records document one of the unique ways that Native American soldiers used their language and cultural heritage to serve the country.
Native American “Code Talkers” were first used to transmit encrypted messages during World War I. This 1919 memo from the commander of the 142nd Infantry Regiment, 36th Division, describes how Native Americans communicated in their indigenous languages to keep Allied plans secret. The Germans had deciphered every previous American code but never broke American Indian soldiers’ “code.”
Letter from the Commanding Officer of the 142nd Infantry to the Commanding General of the 36th Division, stating how messages would be transmitted during World War I in Choctaw as the enemy "could not decipher the messages." January 23, 1919. National Archives, Records of the American Expeditionary Forces (World War I) View in National Archives Catalog