‘North American Indians in the Great War’ by Susan Applegate Krouse : review
runningwolf
By Brian Daffron, Today correspondent
Story Published: Nov 6, 2009
Story Updated: Nov 6, 2009
ANADARKO, Okla. – For those who want to read about the experiences of
American Indian soldiers and sailors who served their country before
many of them were considered U.S. citizens, read “North American
Indians in the Great War” by Susan Applegate Krouse.
This book tells two stories. It gives many first-hand accounts of
American Indian soldiers with information about their combat
experiences, their reasons for enlisting, as well as their frustration
with the federal government with regard to veterans’ benefits and lack
of citizenship.
It also tells the story of the man who collected 2,846 surveys on
Native veterans throughout the country, Joseph K. Dixon. A
photographer and writer in the “vanishing American” mold, Dixon
eventually became a Native rights advocate in the years between 1918
until his death in 1926.
Much of the book focuses on Dixon’s collection of surveys and
photographs, as well as the reasons why more than 12,000 Indians
served in World War I, “despite the fact that many of them were not
U.S. citizens at the time,” wrote Krouse.
Dixon originally collected this information from Native veterans and
their families all across the country as justification to lobby the
U.S. government to allow citizenship for all Native people. In
addition to trying to earn the right to be citizens, many reasons for
fighting in the Great War included patriotism instilled from boarding
schools and an extension of the Native American warrior tradition. One
of the direct quotes for these motives comes from Sam Thundercloud,
Winnebago: “I am fighting for the rights of a country that had not
done right by my people.”
There are also specific accounts of war-related deeds such as that
told by a Pueblo man, Aniseto Ortega, who said the Germans “had used
their last shell on me, and then called ‘Kamerad.’ I answered them
with my bayonet.”
Additional chapters focus on jobs such as infantry, artillery,
snipers, runners and scouts, as well as other duties both combat and
non-combat related. There is also a chapter, “Proud to Be a Warrior,”
in which the focus is on the victory celebrations and ceremonies that
gave the Great War veterans “a culturally valid way to celebrate their
deeds.”
Chapter Seven, “The Discouraging Return Home,” targets the
frustrations these veterans had toward government bureaucracy and lost
opportunities. For example, Comanche tribal member Calvin Atchavit
earned less money from a land lease upon his return home from duty
after the Kiowa Agency acted upon his behalf while he served. Also,
many Native veterans lost years of their education and tribal
positions after serving in World War I.
The final chapter, “Soldiers but Not Citizens,” addresses the primary
reason Dixon created the collection – the lack of citizenship for
American Indians. One quote from Winnebago Charles Lamere is an answer
to the survey question “Are you a citizen?” Lamere’s answer: “supposed
to be.”
Krouse adds other information and issues problematic to the
citizenship question such as Apache soldiers Private Oliver Betchait
and Private Sam T. Kenei, who were allowed to enlist despite their
official “prisoner of war” status, and that the Indian Citizenship Act
of 1924 left voting rights up to the states and “did not eliminate
government control over land or other assets held in trust, either for
individuals or for tribes.”
It is in the Afterward that Krouse critiques Dixon and his
predominantly romantic views of Native people. Before the Indian
Citizenship Act was passed, Dixon was in the process of writing a work
entitled “From Tepees to Trenches.” Although Dixon went into great
detail to interview Native veterans, Krouse wrote that Dixon never
appeared to use comments he collected and instead depended on
“hyperbolic prose” in his writings on Native experience. Krouse sums
up Dixon’s work by ultimately stating the collecting of quotes and
information on these veterans is Dixon’s most valuable contribution.
Other notable points in the book include tribal members who lived
outside their tribal jurisdictions during this time, such as Sgt.
Carlyle T. Pinn, a Cherokee listed as living in Jamaica Plain, Mass.;
and Sgt. Samuel Mullen, a Comanche listed as living in Evansville,
Ind.; Private Mark Leggett, Wylackie of Spyrock, Calif., the only
documented case of shellshock in Dixon’s notes; and that at least 12
soldiers documented by Dixon died of influenza. There is also
information on Second Lt. John Joseph Mathews, an Osage night flying
instructor who would eventually become a novelist and tribal
historian.
This book paints a slice-of-life look at the experiences and thoughts
of many Native veterans after their return from the trenches of France
or from stateside service. For those wishing to expand their knowledge
of Native veterans’ issues and part of the struggle for Native civil
rights in the 20th century, this is worth reading.
http://www.indiancountrytoday.com/living/reviews/69377352.html
tk
"runningwolf" <nrunni...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:5984969a-b6d4-4c17...@a21g2000yqc.googlegroups.com...
�North American Indians in the Great War� by Susan Applegate Krouse
By Brian Daffron, Today correspondent
<snip>
The Dixon photograhs and WWI documentation are at the W.H. Mathers Museum at
Indiana University. There are two web pages about them:
http://www.indiana.edu/~mathers/collections/photos/wanamake.html
http://www.indiana.edu/~mathers/exhibits/wan.html
tk
Melodious Thunk
> "runningwolf" <nrunningw...@gmail.com> wrote in message
Good resource, thank for posting the links.
I have an uncle (Western Band Cherokee, i.e. Arkansas) who served in
WWII and pointed out that, if you were identified as NDN, you could
serve but not as an officer. He had his degree already so "hid" his
heritage and served as an AAF bombardier in Europe, later as a flight
instructor. He said he knew many other NDNs who spent the war years
"passing" for white.
tk
"Melodious Thunk" <thunk.m...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:f6dd3e22-a67e-45b8...@h14g2000pri.googlegroups.com...
===
Ummm,
Google: Clarence L. Tinker.
tk
Melodious Thunk
> "Melodious Thunk" <thunk.melodi...@gmail.com> wrote in message
While I do know his story, and the site you linked to identifies
several WWI-era NDN officers, I was relaying a family story to
contrast the WWI experience of NDNs with that of WWII.
African Americans had much the same experience as NDNs in the Army:
some thousands of African American officers (and tens of thousands of
enlisted) served in combat operations during WWI; during WWII, very
few (of nearly half a million African American) served in combat in a
much more rigorously segregated Army. Aside from the Tuskegee Airmen,
you're hard-pressed to find African American officers during WWII.
While not rigorously segregated from "normal" white soldiers, NDNs
found entry to the officer corps difficult during the period difficult
at best; hence my uncle's observation and personal choice.