WWI was a tragic and terrifying time for millions of people across the United States along with the rest of the world. However, Native Americans and Indigenous peoples in the United States were receiving additional hardships on top of it all.
Native Americans within American history are already criminally underrepresented and seen as largely absent from all of the major events through American history, however, this is majorly incorrect. Native Americans within America during WWI were some of the most influential and crucial parts in the efforts of protecting America and protecting the Allied Forces, with groups like the Code Talkers and many native communities who just used their already developed skills. As we learned in class even without the United States respecting and identifying that Native Americans and their respective communities were sovereignties, along with the United States also not acknowledging that they were citizens they still put their lives on the line to protect their country and more importantly their communities and loved ones. We also learned that certain indigenous nations and communities were in support of fighting against the Central Powers, an example of this was the Onondaga Nation declaring war on Germany due to Germany imprisoning natives who were within the country. It was interesting to learn that the majority of Native Communities didn’t just fight for the love and protection of the United States, they did it for economic gain, better resources, and hopes for better civil rights and it also made sense that most Native young men were in boarding schools so they were conditioned to already fight for America. I can’t imagine what these young men and many other native peoples experienced during this time, with hate and animosity still running throughout all branches of the United States military it’s safe to say that those who fought didn’t receive enough for what they must have endured.
However, it was relieving yet troubling to hear that the United States finally granted citizenship to those who did serve. Even though still with this one step forward of course they had to have two steps back, with the 1924 Indian Citizenship Act specifically stating that property rights would still not be changed or altered in any way. Even with this bitter-sweet outcome, it is empowering to see that Native Americans impacted history dramatically and critically.