The question was asked “...however what are they giving back to the US?” And I have to point out in answering this, is that a higher percentage of the Native American population serve, or have served, in the US military than any other population demographic including whites. Native Americans when it came down to it were some of the most patriotic individuals, with the majority of them not having to be drafted for service but being volunteers instead. The Navajo code talkers are perfect example of this. That these men volunteered from the reservations and their homes, to develop a code system that the Japanese could not decipher. In leaving the reservations they entered into a nation who had pushed them aside, had tried to exterminate them and tried to destroy the very language that they were now using to assist the country. The depth of moral character it takes to be able to overlook all of these things that were done to them and still stand up and say “I will fight for this country” and to give that statement freely, is something that we (even I, as a Veteran) cannot even begin to fathom. I am not trying to downplay other persons contributions to the efforts of the United States military, but I am trying to say is they have given us back quite a lot, in spite of what they lost or had forced from them, but also for what we have gained having them as part of our imperfect great nation.
Disclaimer: Not an attack, but more of a push toward better understanding. I would be happy to share some of what I know of the Code Talkers if anyone has interest in this subject.
Thank you for bringing up the Code Talkers. That's why I love this group because we and in this case I often forget things like this and need to be corrected.
ReplyDeleteThat was a good post. Any information you can add about the code talkers would be much appreciated.
ReplyDeletei believe they are also known as the wind talkers. thanks for posting this, i was just talking about Native Americnas in the milatary a couple days ago
ReplyDeleteAgain, I would recommend Ronald Takaki's work on World War II for a look at the code talkers and how the experiences of American Indians in WW II connects to the experiences of other minority groups at the time.
ReplyDeleteAlso, many Native novelists and poets have written on the experiences of Native peoples in the armed forces. For example, I would highly recommend Leslie Marmon Silko's novel Ceremony. It is considered a classic within Native studies.
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