Native Americans have made up an integral part of U.S. military conflicts since America's beginning. Colonists recruited Indian allies during such instances as the Pequot War from 1634–1638, the Revolutionary War, as well as in War of 1812. Native Americans also fought on both sides during the American Civil War, as well as military missions abroad including the most notable, the Codetalkers who served in World War II. The Scouts were active in the American West in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Including those who accompanied General John J. Pershing in 1916 on his expedition to Mexico in pursuit of Pancho Villa. Indian Scouts were officially deactivated in 1947 when their last member retired from the Army at Fort Huachuca, Arizona.[1] For many Indians it was an important form of interaction with European-American culture and their first major encounter with the Whites' way of thinking and doing things.[2]
- ^ "20th Century Warriors: Native American Participation in the United States Military". defenslink.mil. Retrieved October 10, 2009.
- ^ Dunlay, Thomas W. Wolves for the blue soldiers: Indian scouts and auxiliaries with the United States Army, 1860-90. University of Nebraska Press, 1982.