General survey of Native American participation in the Vietnam War

Abstract

Native American participation during the Vietnam War is a subject woefully understudied, as whole, with a majority of the historiography consisting of one man’s work. This general survey of Native American/Indian/Indigenous American participation in the Vietnam War seeks to expand the current understanding of the experiences of Native Americans servicemen and women during the Vietnam era, with special focus paid to Native Servicemen stationed in West Germany and the views of non-Native servicemen towards their Native counterparts. This research shows that some of the more ubiquitous features in prior scholarship on the topic, such as ceremonies meant to send off and welcome back returning warriors, may be less common than previously thought. It also shows that discrimination faced by soldiers varied based on where they were stationed, opening up a new area of study for future research.