In many ways, Native American Indians are the worst off socioeconomically, of all the major racial/ethnic groups in the U.S. There are different opinions about why that is the case, but nonetheless, the history of systematic mistreatment of the Native American Indian population is well-documented. In this context, I was a little surprised to learn that in fact, Native American Indians have the highest rate of enlistment in the military of all racial groups, but with different reasons than one might expect:

One reason for the high participation rates, to be sure, are the career and economic benefits. “The military is seen as an opportunity,” says Mark St. Pierre, an historian. His book, Of Uncommon Birth: Dakota sons in Vietnam, follows native Americans who fought in Southeast Asia. . . . “People on this reservation realize they will get VA benefits,” he says, “that they might go to college.” . . .

Yet the cultural motivations for military service run deep among native Americans, too – and set them apart from many other minority groups. A sense of tribal duty is often a primary motivator. . . . It’s evident that patriotism runs deep here on the Navajo reservation. Many houses fly American flags, and the national anthem is sung at most community events. But native Americans often interpret these symbols differently from the rest of society. . . .

[W]hen Mary Cohoe looks at the flag, she doesn’t think about Congress, the president, or democratic ideals. To her, Old Glory is a symbol of the US military and the physical sacrifices she and her people have made for their land. . . . “It’s our dirt,” she says. “That’s where we came from. The flag is the loyalty that we have, as Navajo, to Mother Earth.” . . .

As Ms. Cohoe and other veterans explain, the military is one way for native Americans to gain power in a country that they believe continues to ignore and mistreat them. “We are using the system to protect our culture – to survive,” she says.

In the same way that the Japanese American soldiers who fought in the 442nd RCT in World War II put aside their trauma of seeing almost their entire community imprisoned without just cause, so too must I give major props to Native American Indians who put their lives on the line to protect the fundamental rights and privileges that were systematically denied to them for centuries by our government.

In addition, the motivations of Native American Indian soldiers of fighting to not only serve our country but also to preserve their ancestral culture and historical identity of their tribe is another powerful example of a recurring them that I’ve posted about in this blog -- that racial/ethnic minorities are forging their own individual and collective identities that combine elements of both mainstream American society and their traditional culture

And in the process of forging this new inclusive identity, Native American Indians also help to expand and diversify the definition of what it means to be “American.”