Native
Americans
during WW2
By Tim Fry Perod 3
Dan Waupoose, a
Menominee chief, training at
Algiers, Louisiana, 1943.
Navajo Code talkers
●
One estimate indicates that at the outbreak of World War II,
fewer than 30 non-Navajo could understand the language
(which was unwritten); therefore, very valuable for the US
intelligence community.
●
They used their knowledge of Native American languages as
a basis to transmit coded messages; their primary job was
the sending of secret tactical messages over military
telephone or radio.
●
Primarily used in the Pacific theater; Hitler had sent
anthropologists prior to WW2 to America to learn about the
Navajo and other native languages, which made the allies
cautious to use the tactic in Europe.
●
In the end, the Japanese Imperial Army never cracked the
code! They captured only one Navajo marine, who wasn’t
able to understand the codes used, even knowing Navajo.
Indian code-talkers of the 4th
Signal Company (U.S. Army
Signal Center and Ft. Gordon)
45th Infantry Division
●
Nicknamed the “Thunderbirds”, they were a major
formation of the Oklahoma Army National Guard from
1920 to 1968. Headquartered mostly in Oklahoma City,
the guardsmen fought in both World War II and the
Korean War.
●
They were made up largely of Native Americans; they
had one of the highest percentages in any division in
the Military at the time.
●
They took part in intense fighting during the invasion of
Sicily and the attack on Salerno in the 1943 Italy
Campaign. They held primary roles in the battles of
Anzio and in Monte Cassino, and after landing in
France during Operation Dragoon, they joined the 1945
drive into Nazi Germany that ended the War in Europe.
45th Infantry Division shoulder sleeve
insignia.
“Tundra Army”
●
The Alaska Territorial Guard (ATG), more commonly
the Eskimo Scouts or the Tundra Army, was a
military reserve force component of the US Army,
organized in 1942 in response to attacks on United
States soil in Hawaii and occupation of parts of Alaska
by Japan during World War II.
●
Included members of the Aleut, Athabaskan, White,
Inupiaq, Haida, Tlingit, Tsimshian, and Yupik tribes
●
One first-hand estimate states that around 20,000
Alaskans participated, officially or otherwise, in ATG
reconnaissance or support activities; however, they
saw little action over the course of the war.
Life back Home- mixed blessings
●
(+) Many Indian men and women left the reservation to work
in defense-related industries. A wave of Indian migration
from the rural reservations to urban areas was sparked by
employment opportunities in the defense industries, lacking
workers which had been absorbed for the war effort.
●
●
(-) Land was taken from many large Indian reservations by
the government, without the consent of the people. In 1942,
for example, the federal government established internment
camps for Japanese Americans on two Indian reservations:
the Gila Indian Reservation and the Colorado River Indian
Reservation.
(+) Indian Nations helped to support the US cause; they
supported the US with tribal money via war bonds, they
planted close to 100,000 Victory Gardens to provide food,
and many men enlisted to fight (The 6 Iroquois Nations
actually declared war on the Axis powers).
Lieutenant Ernest Childers, a
Muscogee Native member of the
45th Division, being congratulated
back home after receiving the
Medal of Honor.
Discussion Questions
1. What was the value of Native American messengers in
World War 2?
2. What were some examples of action Native Americans
saw during the war (posts, battles, awards, etc)?
3. What were some ways that Native Americans back
home were impacted by World War 2?
Bibliographies
http://www.alaskool.org/projects/ak_military/akmilitaryindx.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/45th_Infantry_Division_(United_States)
http://www.nmai.si.edu/education/codetalkers/html/
http://www.shsu.edu/~his_ncp/NAWWII.html
http://www.history.army.mil/html/topics/natam/index.html
http://nativeamericannetroots.net/diary/609