Native Americans in WWI: Courage and Sacrifice

Black and white photograph of two rows of Native American soldiers standing at attention in front of tents and barracks.

Company E, 142nd Infantry, 36th Division. Object ID: 2006.26.8

Native Americans, like millions around the world, were moved to action during World War I, highlighting a strong commitment in a global struggle that often overlooked their own rights and sovereignties. Across the United States, individuals from diverse Indigenous nations – coast to coast – stepped forward. They served not only in traditional combat roles but also as pioneering Code Talkers, using their unique languages to secure military communications.

Beyond the battlefield, Native Americans contributed through various volunteer organizations, fund raising and production of much-needed war materials. This widespread involvement occurred despite U.S. government actions that often ignored full citizenship, cultural needs and even treaties previously established with their nations. Within a complex era of systemic inequity, the contributions of Native Americans, including over 12,000 who served in the U.S. military, were a testament to a legacy of courage, honor, patriotism and sacrifice.

Scan of a work passport with typed information and a small picture of a young short-haired man wearing glasses, a jacket and bowtie
Paper passport issued to Richard S. Righter by the National War Work Council of The International Committee of the Young Men's Christian Associations. Object ID: 1982.94.12 →
Scan of a detailed map of the WWI frontlines in Europe, with ots of little X's, crosses, stars and other symbols to denote locations of battles and graves.
United States Adjutant-General's Office, Cartographer. The North American Indian in the World War. Washington, D.C.: Office of the adjutant General of the Army, July . ©1926, 1925. Map. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/item/2016586524/.

What did Native Americans contribute to the war effort?

Dr. Bill Meadows – Author and historian
“The First Code Talkers: Native American Communicators in World War I”

 

00:00 - 00:30
In terms of contributions, I would say on one level, almost anything you take in the war effort, there are Native Americans involved in it. So there are Native Americans who were infantrymen. There are, in frontline service. There are Native Americans who were officers, like lieutenants and things of this nature, hospital, hospital care, ambulance drivers, mortars and artillery, servicemen.

00:30 - 00:53
There are many Native Americans in the Navy in World War I as well. So just about anything. And then also we have to think about the home front as well. There - just like with non-Indians, there were Native Americans who were not sent overseas but contributed in every type of supply, transportation, serving as MPs or police, etc. so literally it is the entire war effort.

00:53 - 01:16
Now on some unique cases, one of the most unique, of course, is the Code Talkers. And so there have been seven different native tribes or nations that I have identified that have served as Code Talkers. So what is a Code Talker? Well, using your native language to send Native American communications during World War I, which is where it began.

01:16 - 01:28
And that's something that only they had those languages to do. And they were languages that Germany had no familiarity with, and therefore quite effective for the American effort.

Prelude to War


In July of 1914, the outbreak of war in Europe sent the world into a cataclysm that would last for more than four years. As nations across the globe declared war, the United States stayed neutral for the initial years of the conflict. Within its own borders, however, peace was superficial at best. While outright war with Indigenous nations had ceased by the late 1890s, the U.S. government pursued violent policies of restriction, containment and assimilation through boarding schools and reservations. By 1917, these policies had led to two-thirds of Native Americans obtaining U.S. citizenship, despite citizenship not being granted at a federal level. They gained it through a variety of means, such as:

  • moving off tribal lands through the Dawes Act (sometimes called the General Allotment Act) of 1887,
  • marriage to a U.S. citizen,
  • certain treaties with some Indigenous nations,
  • and even through executive orders.

This partial granting of citizenship masked a larger systemic denial of rights and autonomy, setting the stage for complex interactions when the military draft was started in 1917.

Black and white portrait photograph of a young Native American man in WWI U.S. military uniform and metal doughboy helmet.
“Pvt. John Elk, Company D, 139th Infantry, 35th Division. Bismarck, N.D. Full blooded Sioux Indian. Commercy, Meuse, France. Jan. 27, 1919.” Object ID: 1926.28..612 →

Native Americans, U.S. citizenship and the draft

Dr. Bill Meadows – Author and historian
“The First Code Talkers: Native American Communicators in World War I”

 

00:00 - 00:23
They were included in the draft of 1917. And this is, this is a somewhat complicated scenario. So there is a popular image that - or belief that no Native Americans were U.S. citizens at the time of World War I. And that is not accurate: around two thirds of Native Americans were citizens in World War I.

00:24 - 00:57
And you could become a citizen through several different ways. It could be in a particular treaty, where it was guaranteed if you received allotment through the Dawes Act. And many nations were allotted, some were not. There also could be things like executive orders or things of that nature which could create citizenship. Or if you were a native that had married a non-native and particularly were living, not necessarily inside, but around or outside of the tribal community, they were often recognized as U.S. citizens.

00:57 - 01:33
There were still about a third of the native population that were not recognized. They did not fall under those other categories. And so when the draft comes up in 1917, it creates some scenarios. You have Native Americans who are drafted and who went ahead and served, despite the draft being illegal, because they did not hold citizenship. You also have Native Americans who are not citizens volunteering to serve - and many did volunteer to serve - and should not have been accepted based on citizenship, but were allowed to go voluntarily and serve as well.

01:33 - 01:59
Where this finally played out was that when it was realized after the war that there were some Native Americans who were not citizens, who served in World War I, they offered a special piece of legislation in 1919 that any natives who were not - who were veterans who had not received citizenship could apply to get U.S. citizenship.

01:59 - 02:27
However, the process was a little, a little bureaucratic and involved long distance and expense. So most veterans simply went back home and didn't bother to apply or do that. The total question is finally resolved in 1924, where all Native Americans henceforth are recognized as U.S. citizens. But the act didn't - it didn't really mention that two thirds were already citizens.

02:27 - 02:30
So that's where a lot of the confusion comes from.

Why fight?


When the United States declared war on Germany in April 1917, Native American individuals, communities and nations had to decide: How might a people, long treated with inequity, handle a call to arms to “make the world safe for democracy”?

The draft, which started with the Selective Service Act in May 1917, included Native Americans – both citizen and non-citizen – alike. Despite one-third of Native populations lacking U.S. citizenship, many embraced the call to action, while others resisted. Ultimately, over 12,000 Native Americans would serve in the U.S. military in World War I. The Onondaga and Oneida Nations formally declared war against Germany. Additionally, around 10,000 volunteered with the American Red Cross. The motivations behind engaging in the war effort were diverse and complex, including:

  • cultural traditions of warriorship and defense of home,
  • economic needs,
  • the pursuit of civil rights,
  • travel and adventure,
  • escaping the reservation,
  • having been forcibly preconditioned for military service in boarding schools,
  • and a sense of humanitarian service.

And, with no legal recognition as American citizens, an estimated 3,500 Indigenous people chose to voluntarily enlist or accept notices to become part of America’s fighting forces in WWI.

Modern photograph of a WWI U.S. soldier uniform cap
Overseas cap for a U.S. soldier's uniform. Belonged to William F. Rainwater, Native American from Kansas. Object ID: 1991.42.1 →

Why did Native Americans enlist?

Dr. Bill Meadows – Author and historian
“The First Code Talkers: Native American Communicators in World War I”

 

00:00 - 00:29
Well, you have, of course, a legacy of not-so-great treatment and the loss of major, you know, most of the continent, etc. But part of the understory that gets lost: there are tribes that had signed particular treaties with the United States, and some also with Canada, up in Canada, where they pledged to voluntarily fight should America be attacked, and the same way, should Canada.

00:29 - 00:50
So you had some groups that felt that they were honor-bound and treaty-bound to support the war cause. And people enlisting because of that, because they wanted to support, in how their tribe had agreed or give their word and everything. You also had people, for example - there are a lot of reasons why natives served in World War I:

00:50 - 01:15
a lot of cultures came from cultural traditions where veterans were extremely upheld in the community. It was seen as the traditional protector. So all your other cultural components were at risk if you could not protect your community and protect your people. And so veterans have always been very, very elevated in most Native American cultures. Another condition was the boarding schools.

01:15 - 01:43
So the majority of the veterans that ended up in World War I went through Indian boarding schools, whether it be a local school or be an out-of-state boarding school. So they were already preconditioned a lot of ways - in terms of - kind of like a cadet-type school. They had lived in bunks and kind of quarters, wore military style uniforms, marched to class, some short order drill. Some units - like up at Haskell and everything,

01:43 - 02:15
even had kind of like ROTC or military cadet units. So they actually trained in weapons and marching and things. So a lot of them came out of these, a school to where a lot of the things that would be covered in basic training were already familiar to them and everything. If you look at their testimonies at the end of World War I, some men joined out of economic necessity - simply a chance for income and to send that income back home to their families to take care of their families.

02:15 - 02:41
There are some that had joined for the sake of exploration and a chance to travel, because that was a very traditional part of warrior culture in many societies, was to travel to other lands and explore. Some mentioned that they left it to escape the conditions of the reservation, which were very bleak and economically depressed at the time.

02:41 - 03:15
Some people also joined because in their families, they had already established very long traditions of military service - both aboriginally, but even in things like the Revolution, the War of 1812, Civil War, the Spanish-American War, and now World War I. So there are many, many factors there. There are people that also went because they thought it could improve their political and their legal status and gain more rights, more favorable treatment or more acceptance and more rights.

03:15 - 03:40
So it is a very mixed bag of reasons that can vary from one soldier to the other. Another another issue is that some people wanted to show and put behind stereotypes of, you know, not supporting or not being, you know, a part of the nation and things of that nature.

03:40 - 04:05
And so while still trying to carry the traditional culture forward, it was a way to reinforce that or show that we are, in a sense, with you. And then if you look at it from the native standpoint, they still have lands - greatly reduced - they still have lands that technically, legally have never left their hands. So there is still tribally-owned trust status Native American land, and your community and your people.

04:05 - 04:31
So on one level, they are protecting those remaining lands and their respective nation or tribal people. On a second hand now, they're also protecting the United States as a whole and all the other peoples. So I've always looked at it as a kind of a dual duty. It's almost like a dual citizenship or a dual duty, that is qualitatively different than any other American at that time.

04:31 - 04:52
And the willingness to join, you know, coming out of the boarding schools - some of the cultural suppression - the willingness to join and serve, and the willingness to use their language and code talking, and some of these things I've always thought speaks very highly of their - of a level of patriotism and character.

Valued Contributions


Native Americans made significant and varied contributions to America’s war effort, distinguishing themselves with unique skills from their cultures and bravery in various arenas.

Code Talkers

Portrait painting of a young, cleanshaven Native American man in WWI American soldier dress uniform and cap, with medals pinned to his chest, slightly smiling at the viewer.
Photo of Otis Leader as he looked in 1918. From The Oklahoman archives →

Otis Leader of the Choctaw Nation enlisted in 1918 after being mistaken for a Spanish spy while traveling through Texas for work. The 35-year-old was in France for the very first battle that the American Expeditionary Forces took part in. While injured during his time at war, he was pulled from the hospital to send messages in Choctaw. His list of medals earned includes the Croix de Guerre (twice), a Silver Star Medal, a Victory Medal and a Purple Heart – to name a few.

 

American Red Cross

Black and white photo of two elderly Native American women in Red Cross uniforms and headdresses, seated under a tree from which a U.S. flag has been draped.
Object ID: 2006.33.5.2 →

Among the over 10,000 volunteering Native Americans in the American Red Cross were the two women in this photograph. Nellie Pete and Jane Waley of the Mono Tribe were around 90 years old when this photo was taken, as they took on work with the American Red Cross on their reservation near Fresno, California. These women would have been around to see their people go to war with the United States when the U.S. encroached onto their land in the 1850s, when the U.S. subsequently forced them into a reservation, and in the 1890s after the Allotment Act further reduced their lands.

 

Infantry Soldier

Black and white portrait photograph of a young Native American man in WWI military uniform standing at attention in front of a stone wall.
Object ID: 2011.93.0.3 →

Pontiac Williams, a member of the Ottawa Nation, enlisted in Detroit, Michigan. A member of the 125th Infantry Regiment, Williams took part in every battle that his regiment was sent to except one, after sustaining a severe face injury. According to the presentation of his Distinguished Service Cross, “Private Williams volunteered to go out in front of our lines and bring in a wounded runner. Although he was shot in the face before he reached the runner, he accomplished his mission.” For this same act of bravery, he also earned the Croix de Guerre with a gilt star.

 

U.S. Army Medical Department Nurse
Black and white portrait photograph of a Native American woman in a white nurse uniform
Cora Elm, 1918 →

Cora Elm, a member of the Oneida Nation, left for Europe in Dec. 1917 as a member of the Nurse Corps. A 1916 graduate of the Episcopal Hospital School of Nursing, Elm spent nine months at a base hospital, which saw over 9,000 patients enter its care. After the Armistice, Elm continued her service in the Baltic States and Russia from 1918 to 1920. Elm was one of 14 Native American women known to have served in the Nurse Corps.

Recognition and Legacy 


Native Americans served and sacrificed during the Great War at an even greater rate than others; about 5 percent of those who served were killed, compared to 1 percent of U.S. forces in general. After the war ended, the opportunity for citizenship was extended to those who were not citizens but did serve in WWI. The process was long and complicated, so many people returned home and continued their lives as non-citizens. Finally, on June 2, 1924, the Indian Citizenship Act was passed. The actions of Native Americans during WWI were used as a piece of the argument to extend citizenship and help pass the act. While citizenship did not end the need for the continued fight for equality, it was a vital step in the process.

Black and white photograph of a group of men talking jovially. In the center, one man is wearing ceremonial buckskins and a feathered headdress. The rest are in American/European-style coats and hats.
During the American Legion Convention Tour starting in Nov. 1921, Sioux Chief Red Tomahawk gave a Sioux name to Marshal Foch: "Wa-kia Wa-ta-ka-pe," meaning "Charging Thunder." Object ID: 1997.5.1 →
Crop of a scan of the Indian Citizenship Act.
“Sixty-eighth Congress of the United States of America; / At the First Session, / Begun and held at the City of Washington on Monday, the third day of December, one thousand nine hundred and twenty-three. / AN ACT / To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to issue certificates of citizenship to Indians.” U.S. National Archives →

 

 

Other things to watch:

Many Americans know something about the Navajo code talkers in World War II. But the strategy originated in World War I with members of the Choctaw, Oklahoma Cherokee, Comanche, Osage, and Sioux nations, as well as the Eastern Band of Cherokee and Ho-Chunk, whose veterans have yet to receive congressional recognition.

Dr. Bill Meadows, historian and author of “The First Code Talkers: Native American Communicators in World War I,” explores recent discoveries in research and delves into the post-war impact and popular myths of the first Code Talkers.

The contributions of Native Americans to the war effort helped win the war and, in 1924, citizenship for all Indigenous peoples in the U.S. This short video shares a small portion of their story.

After the stripping of their weapons and confinement to reservations in the late 19th century, many Native American nations -- especially Plains communities with strong warrior societies like Kiowa and Comanche -- recognized the United States' entrance into the World War I as a time when they could “become warriors again.” As Native communities sent their young men to serve, they revived and openly practiced sacred spiritual traditions in direct defiance of United States reservation and assimilation policies.

When they returned from overseas, veterans did not shed their warrior roles but embraced their communities’ concepts of warriors as leaders and those entrusted to ensure their people’s survival. In doing so, many veterans became spiritual advocates, becoming active participants in the reemergence of traditional expressions of faith as well as advocates for newer spiritual practices, like the Native American Church.

Specialist Curator for Faith and Religion Patricia Cecil investigates their experiences.

From combat and cryptology to logistics and labor, approximately 12,000 American Indian soldiers served with the American Expeditionary Forces during the Great War. Despite their service and the accolades awarded for their actions, many were not officially recognized as citizens by the United States government. 

In supporting the war effort – a means of honoring and protecting the land they had inhabited for millennia – they hoped to gain this status under the law. 

On the 100th anniversary of the Indian Citizenship Act, join specialist curator Natalie Lovgren as she delves into the history and legacy of American Indian service during WWI.

Education Resources

Classroom Discussion Questions

Before Viewing:

  • What were ways that people could contribute to the war effort during WWI?
  • What was the situation for Native Americans in the United States prior to WWI?
  • Would you answer a call to action from your government if you were treated with inequity by that same government?

During Viewing – Clip 1: What did Native Americans contribute to the war effort?

  • List at least five different ways Native Americans contributed to the war effort during WWI.
  • What did the first Code Talkers do?

During Viewing – Clip 2: Native Americans, U.S. citizenship and the draft

  • What fraction of Native Americans held United States citizenship when the U.S. joined WWI?
  • What fraction of Native Americans did not hold United States citizenship when the U.S. joined WWI?
  • List two ways Native Americans became U.S. citizens before 1924.
  • What act made it so all Native Americans would be U.S. citizens?

During Viewing – Clip 3: Why did Native Americans enlist?

  • List at least five different reasons why Native Americans chose to enlist during WWI.

After Viewing:

  • What similarities and differences are there between the service and sacrifice of Native Americans and white Americans?
  • What similarities and differences are there between the service and sacrifice of Native Americans and African Americans?
  • Did anything about Native American actions during WWI surprise you? If so, what was it and why? If not, why not?

More for Classrooms:

How World War I Changed America: Native Americans in WWI

The How WWI Changed America toolkit includes a section on Native American Service. Find resources such as an informational video and podcast, primary resources and tools for analysis, and a lesson to help students learn about Native American service and citizenship.

Primary Resources to Explore

Online Collections Database

Explore the Museum and Memorial’s Online Collections Database to see photographs, objects, and documents related to Native Americans during WWI.

 

Scan of a simple printed poster
“Peace / Celebration / and Barbecue / Fort Thompson / Thursday, July 31, 1919 / Crow Creek Indians will welcome home their soldier boys with Feasting and Jollification” Object ID: 1976.233.1 →

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