Roles Played By Native Americans in WWII

Native Americans played extremely important roles in WWII. Before this point in history, they were frowned upon by the majority of Americans, and there were not a lot of opportunities for them to gain prosperity or wealth. Jobs were not available to the Native Americans; that is if they were even trying to leave their reservations to search for work, which most were not. The attempts towards assimilation were beginning to be considered hopeless as the country approached the War. However, things started to change when President Roosevelt declared War on the Axis Powers in 1941.

When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, more Indians joined the War cause than had ever before. There was a 40% increase of enlisting Indians than the rate in WWI, and that was only the beginning. By 1942, 7,500 Indians had joined in the overseas military forces, and they served in all branches of the war. A surprising 40,000 left their reservations; some for the first time ever, to search for jobs in defense Industries.  At the end of the war in 1945, 22,000 Indian men had voluntarily joined the war on the front, and over 150,000 Indians were back in the States helping the effort. They were gaining jobs in factories and hospitals, as well as foundations like the Red Cross. Some of the most generous donations were actually from the Native Americans, who gave almost all they had. This shows that even though throughout the history of America, and the horrible things that white Europeans did to these people, they still had a great sense of pride for their nation, and displayed strong patriotism. By the end of the war, 99% of available Native Americans registered for the draft, but sadly, they still weren’t allowed to vote. However, their successful endeavors helped to lead to many Civil Rights movements to come.

One of the most significant roles that Native Americans played during WWII was their contributions of code talking. The fact that the United States had this fantastic advantage over the Axis Powers was scary for the Germans. Since the Choctaw language was indecipherable in WWI, they sent spies over to reservations posing as anthropologists who actually tried to learn their languages and even go as far as telling the Indians not to register for the draft. To their disappointment, none of the codes were ever cracked, by the Japanese or the Germans. In fact, they were only made further more complex. During the war, there was a large recruitment of Navajo Indians, who came together over the period of two weeks in 1942 at a code talking “school “to further develop these codes, which were based off of the unwritten Navajo language. Something that I thought was interesting was that most of these battle messages were translated over the telephone.
                                                                                                                                                     "He who smells his mustache," and “the Gourd Chin," otherwise known to the Native Americans as Hitler and Benito Mussolini were two people who helped contribute to the modern day ideas about the swastika. Today, it is a symbol that represents fear, hate, and the Holocaust, but before WWII, this symbol was used frequently throughout the world. In many religions, like Christianity and Hinduism, and also in many cultures, like the Ancient Chinese, and European countries all have presented evidence that proves their use of the swastika. In Native America, this symbol was very similar to an Indian mystical bird that represents good luck, life, the sun, power, and strength. It was commonly paired with a famous Navajo myth called The Whirling Log. In this story, a man is trying to travel to reach an ultimate goal, but he has no way to continue his journey when he sees a river. So, to fix his problem, he hollows out two logs and paddles his way downstream in his makeshift boat to reach his destination. In that myth, the two whirling logs cross to form the swastika and represent his good fortune to find those logs, his power and strength to hollow and paddle, and his journey of life. The Native Americans used this symbol in many tribal objects, war armors, and many more objects alike commonly. Another example of how they overcame the pain that the white men put them through is that they officially discontinued the use of their sacred symbol in attempt to end the hatred being spread by the mustache smeller and the gourd chin man.

As you can see, the Native Americans played a crucial part in the fight against the Axis Powers of WWII. Without their fierce patriotism, unbreakable codes and languages, and readily helpful working hands, the outcome of the war would definitely be changed as we know it.

Sources:
National Museum of the American Indian
Department of Defense
US Navy
www.khandro.net