(More comment-thread necromancy, as I trawl through your tags looking for more cool book recs!)
The Indians-in-the-military thing is just...kind of hard to explain. In terms of our actual numbers in the population of the country as a whole, we are just hugely, disporportionately represented in the military, and that goes back for generations. And some of it, especially when you're dealing with folks in some of the more remote, economically disadvantaged reservations, is the poverty angle, the chance to get out and see the world and get a job and money for education and opportunities that just are not available at home, albeit at the cost of risk to oneself. And part of it is just a general cultural thing, veterans are held in very great esteem and honored for their service and sacrifices, it's not so much about whether the conflicts they're thrust into are seen as just or unjust, popular or unpopular, it's more a focus on the individual and their willingness to put themselves out there. And a huge part of it, especially in settings like post-Pearl Harbor or post-9/11 where there is a feeling that the country is under attack, is that same sort of thing I mentioned in passing with the flag thing -- it's an identification with this country as something more than just the modern political entity that has such a horrible track record with its indigenous inhabitants, it's fighting for the homeland itself, no matter who may be in charge at the top.
...I'm probably not making a lot of sense here, am I? On the surface it might look a bit like all the young nisei men agitating to enlist in WWII so they could prove their loyalty in the face of the discrimination their families were facing. But for all the generations of Native men and women who've served, more often it seems much less about proving themselves to the powers-that-be, and more about the whole this is still our land too and we will still fight for it sort of angle; and a sense of continuity of warrior traditions for those tribes that had them. Back in WWI, for instance, the Iroquois Confederacy made their own formal declaration of war against Germany; we weren't included in the peace negotiations so come WWII we were automatically parties with the Allies, but nonetheless there were public renewals of the declaration (with Italy and Japan added in to the list), with tribal leaders in regalia on the Capital steps in DC reiterating our stance against the Axis. From the US government side I wouldn't be surprised if this sort of thing wasn't just seen as a cute little photo op for the buy-more-bonds propaganda newsreels, but from the Haudenosaunee side this was a bully pulpit from which to re-proclaim our status as sovereign nations.
As for the Code Talkers, for the Dine' of WWII the delayed recognition was a complicated thing, part of it is I'm sure the entrenched institutional racism that led to so many minority soldiers not getting the higher-level medals, etc. that their service records deserved, but part of it is also that their activities actually remained classified for DECADES. There were still native-language codes in use up through Vietnam. So really, the military couldn't publicize it, the veterans couldn't talk about it, etc., until everything was declassified.
Anyway, sorry for the core-dump! This is all stuff that's been on my mind in particular since this weekend's powwow had a particular focus on honoring veterans, even above and beyond the usual color guards and veteran recognition/participation in the grand entries. There was a presentation to the museum of a makeshift drum constructed from an oil can and cot canvas by Native troops who'd organized a powwow in Iraq, and ceremonies recognizing the National Guard sergeant who'd organized it; there were exhibition dances from the Kiowa War Mothers and warrior societies from other nations; and there was a special presentation honoring five Code Talkers who'd been brought in to serve as representatives for all the Code Talkers of past wars. (And I am still in TOTAL GIDDY SCHOOLGIRLISH GLEE at having the privilege to shake their hands and thank them in person...and having one of these beautiful elders compliment my, ah, rather anime-tastically-artificially-colored hair! SQUEE FAINT etc.)
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The Indians-in-the-military thing is just...kind of hard to explain. In terms of our actual numbers in the population of the country as a whole, we are just hugely, disporportionately represented in the military, and that goes back for generations. And some of it, especially when you're dealing with folks in some of the more remote, economically disadvantaged reservations, is the poverty angle, the chance to get out and see the world and get a job and money for education and opportunities that just are not available at home, albeit at the cost of risk to oneself. And part of it is just a general cultural thing, veterans are held in very great esteem and honored for their service and sacrifices, it's not so much about whether the conflicts they're thrust into are seen as just or unjust, popular or unpopular, it's more a focus on the individual and their willingness to put themselves out there. And a huge part of it, especially in settings like post-Pearl Harbor or post-9/11 where there is a feeling that the country is under attack, is that same sort of thing I mentioned in passing with the flag thing -- it's an identification with this country as something more than just the modern political entity that has such a horrible track record with its indigenous inhabitants, it's fighting for the homeland itself, no matter who may be in charge at the top.
...I'm probably not making a lot of sense here, am I? On the surface it might look a bit like all the young nisei men agitating to enlist in WWII so they could prove their loyalty in the face of the discrimination their families were facing. But for all the generations of Native men and women who've served, more often it seems much less about proving themselves to the powers-that-be, and more about the whole this is still our land too and we will still fight for it sort of angle; and a sense of continuity of warrior traditions for those tribes that had them. Back in WWI, for instance, the Iroquois Confederacy made their own formal declaration of war against Germany; we weren't included in the peace negotiations so come WWII we were automatically parties with the Allies, but nonetheless there were public renewals of the declaration (with Italy and Japan added in to the list), with tribal leaders in regalia on the Capital steps in DC reiterating our stance against the Axis. From the US government side I wouldn't be surprised if this sort of thing wasn't just seen as a cute little photo op for the buy-more-bonds propaganda newsreels, but from the Haudenosaunee side this was a bully pulpit from which to re-proclaim our status as sovereign nations.
As for the Code Talkers, for the Dine' of WWII the delayed recognition was a complicated thing, part of it is I'm sure the entrenched institutional racism that led to so many minority soldiers not getting the higher-level medals, etc. that their service records deserved, but part of it is also that their activities actually remained classified for DECADES. There were still native-language codes in use up through Vietnam. So really, the military couldn't publicize it, the veterans couldn't talk about it, etc., until everything was declassified.
Anyway, sorry for the core-dump! This is all stuff that's been on my mind in particular since this weekend's powwow had a particular focus on honoring veterans, even above and beyond the usual color guards and veteran recognition/participation in the grand entries. There was a presentation to the museum of a makeshift drum constructed from an oil can and cot canvas by Native troops who'd organized a powwow in Iraq, and ceremonies recognizing the National Guard sergeant who'd organized it; there were exhibition dances from the Kiowa War Mothers and warrior societies from other nations; and there was a special presentation honoring five Code Talkers who'd been brought in to serve as representatives for all the Code Talkers of past wars. (And I am still in TOTAL GIDDY SCHOOLGIRLISH GLEE at having the privilege to shake their hands and thank them in person...and having one of these beautiful elders compliment my, ah, rather anime-tastically-artificially-colored hair! SQUEE FAINT etc.)