LibGuides: Primary Sources: America in World War II: Native Americans in World War II

Native Americans in World War II

Native Americans made significant contributions to the Allied war effort during World War II despite facing discrimination and marginalization in their own country. Thousands of Native American men and women served in the armed forces, demonstrating bravery, loyalty, and patriotism on the battlefield.

Native American service members served in all military branches, from the Army and Navy to the Marines and Air Force. They played crucial roles as code talkers. They used their native languages, including Navajo, Choctaw, and Comanche, to transmit vital indecipherable messages to enemy codebreakers, contributing to Allied success in critical battles across the Pacific and European theaters.

Additionally, Native American soldiers served as infantrymen, medics, scouts, and in other combat and support roles, distinguishing themselves in combat with acts of heroism and sacrifice. Despite facing discrimination and segregation within the military, Native American service members fought bravely alongside their fellow soldiers, earning respect and recognition for their contributions.

On the homefront, Native American communities also played a role in supporting the war effort. Many tribes organized war bond drives, participated in victory garden initiatives, and contributed to civilian defense efforts, demonstrating their commitment to the war effort and their country.

However, the war also highlighted the ongoing struggles and injustices faced by Native Americans, including forced assimilation policies, land loss, and inadequate access to healthcare and education. Despite these challenges, Native Americans during World War II demonstrated resilience, patriotism, and a deep commitment to defending their homeland and preserving their cultures and traditions. Their contributions to the war effort helped shape history and paved the way for greater recognition and respect for Native American veterans and their communities.

Online Sources: Native Americans during World War II

1942: NAVAJO CODE TALKERS (INTEL.gov) Inventors of the Unbreakable Code
American Indian and Alaska Native Records in the National Archives > Military Service Records > Code Talkers (National Archives) Subject files and photographs capture the administration, management, and tasks related to or involving Code Talkers during World War I and World War II. Many of these records are not available online. For additional information about these records, click on the National Archives Identifiers below.
American Indian Code Talkers (The National WW II Museum, New Orleans) The idea of using American Indians who were fluent in both their traditional tribal language and in English to send secret messages in battle was first put to the test in World War I with the Choctaw Telephone Squad and other Native communications experts and messengers. However, it wasn’t until World War II that the US military developed a specific policy to recruit and train American Indian speakers to become code talkers.
Celebrating Native American Veterans with Oral Histories and Primary Sources (Library of Congress) It is also a reminder that, though we have collected the stories of many Native Americans with a focus on those who served as code talkers, there are many, many more who served bravely in all of the branches of the military throughout the history of the United States of America. In the Veterans History Project feature Experiencing War: Willing to Serve: American Indians students can view the stories of Native American Indians who served in the military in conflicts from World War II to Iraq, including one woman who served as an Army Nurse during World War II.
Code Talkers (DocsTeach) Historical Era or Document Type
Code Talkers (National Archives) During World Wars I and II, the U.S. military needed to encrypt communications from enemy intelligence. American Indians had their own languages and dialects that few outside their tribes understood; therefore, their languages were ideal encryption mechanisms. Over the course of both wars, the Army and the Marine Corps recruited hundreds of American Indians to become Code Talkers. Records at the National Archives document the origins of this program and the group’s wartime contributions.
Code Talkers: Hearing before the Committee on Indian Affairs U.S. Senate One Hundred Eighth Congress, second session, on contributions of Native American code talkers in American military history, September 22, 2004, Washington, DC.
Code Talkers Recognition Act of 2008 122 Stat. 4774 (Congress.gov) Through Congress.gov
Legacies of Service: Celebrating Native Americans (Library of Congress) Native American veterans have a long history of military service, a legacy which continues to inform their current participation in the armed forces. Since 9/11, Native Americans have served at a higher per-capita rate than any other ethnic group. While their reasons for serving are as diverse as their tribal affiliations, many cite their desire to follow in the footsteps of family members, as well as the cultural value placed on patriotism, duty, and warrior traditions within their communities. Here, we present the narratives of 18 Native American veterans, all of whom served in conflicts from WWII to Iraq and Afghanistan. Including stories ranging from Navajo Code Talkers to those who traded Indian boarding schools for boot camp, all of these collections explore the meaning and experience of American military service.
Maj. Gen. Clayton B. Vogel's Recommendation Letter (National Archives) Letter regarding the enlistment of Navajo's during WWII
Native Americans in World War II (WISELearnResources) This unit will examine the participation of Native Americans in World War II and their impact on the overall war effort. It will also look at the Native American perspective on the war and their participation.
Native American World War II (Digital Public Library of America) 471 results for Native American World War II
Navajo Code Talkers' Dictionary (Naval History & High Command) Navajo Code Talkers' Dictionary
Navajo Code Talkers (Northern Arizona University) Digital items from the Cline Library.
Navajo Code Talkers: A Guide to First-Person Narratives in the Veterans History Project (Library of Congress) Additional resources related to the Navajo Code Talkers can be found on external websites, as well as via traditional print journals and books. Scroll down for links to additional archival repositories offering rich resources on this topic.
Navajo Code Talkers World War II Fact Sheet (Naval History and Heritage Command) Guadalcanal, Tarawa, Peleliu, Iwo Jima: the Navajo code talkers took part in every assault the U.S. Marines conducted in the Pacific from 1942 to 1945. They served in all six Marine divisions, Marine Raider battalions and Marine parachute units, transmitting messages by telephone and radio in their native language a code that the Japanese never broke.
Primary Source Spotlight: Indigenous Code Talkers (Primary Source Nexus) Recognized the contributions of code talkers from thirteen other Native American nations: Assiniboine, Chippewa and Oneida, Choctaw, Comanche, Cree, Crow, Hopi, Kiowa, Menominee, Mississauga, Muscogee, Sac and Fox, and Sioux
Why We Serve: Native Americans in the United States Armed Forces (Smithsonian) We are doing our best to win the war to be free from danger as much as the white man. We are fighting with Uncle Sam’s army to defend the right of our people to live our own life in our own way.
Official Site of the Navajo Code Talkers The site includes the code used as well as photographs and other related information.
Teaching With Documents: Memorandum Regarding the Enlistment of Navajo Indians (National Archives) Maintaining secrecy, particularly during wartime, is vital to the national security of every country. Accomplishing this on the homefront during World War II was one objective of the Office of War Information. The office created propaganda posters that alerted American citizens to the presence of enemy spies and saboteurs lurking just below the surface of American society. On the battlefield, maintaining military secrecy went far beyond poster campaigns because it was essential for victory, and breaking enemy codes was necessary to gain the advantage and shorten the war. The ability to send and receive codes without the risk of the enemy deciphering the transmission was the most desirable end result of military secrecy. This ability, however, often required hours of encrypting and decrypting the code to ensure the highest security of the message. During World War II, the U.S. Marine Corps, in an effort to find quicker and more secure ways to send and receive code, enlisted Navajos as "code talkers."
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"...on, March 6, 1942, Vogel wrote a letter to the U.S. Marine Corps commandant recommending the initial recruitment of two hundred Navajos for the Amphibious Corps, Pacific Fleet. "