VIETNAM WAR

The turbulent Vietnam War Era saw dramatic changes in Native America.  Fed up with poverty, substandard housing and health care, and Indian policies they perceived as repressive or non-responsive, Indian activists pressed for changes. Many communities turned to their veterans—men and women who, as Cherokee-Creek scholar Tom Holm (author, Strong Hearts, Wounded Souls) described, had experienced the outside world. “Who better to deal with the federal government than someone who knows the federal government?” This core of “Ogichidaa,” as the Ojibwe describe them, is largely responsible for reforms in health, housing, education, and religious freedom—a legacy that Native American communities continue to build upon today.

Warrior Societies exist in many Native communities.  The Muscogee Red Stick Society, a Creek Combat Veterans organization, has its roots in an ancient warrior society. Warriors of the Upper Creek-the traditional Muscogee who once lived in present-day Alabama-were known as the “Red Sticks.” They were an elite fighting force, as Creek Cultural Director Joyce Bear explains. Watch video: Red Sticks

John Yahola (Creek) is a member of the Muscogee Red Stick Society. He was a recon scout in the 82nd Airborne Division during the Vietnam War and saw action in Vietnam and Cambodia. He sees the service of his father, brothers, and uncles in the larger context of Creek warriors and ancient confederacies. Watch video: Ancient confederacies

Doug Hawkins (Creek), who served in the Army’s 5th Special Forces during the Vietnam War, also belongs to the Muscogee Red Stick Society. During the 1950s many Native people, including Hawkins’ family, relocated to urban areas. Growing up, Hawkins says he was largely cut off from his culture. He has spent his adult years learning about Creek history and culture, including the role of the Red Sticks. However, as a child, he says his understanding of his own people was largely shaped—or misshaped—by American television.

A combat medic, Hawkins received a Bronze Star for his heroic actions during an enemy attack. But for him, the meaning of warrior, does not necessarily have anything to do with drawing blood.Watch video: Definition of a warrior

Jim Northrup

Vietnam War veteran Jim Northrup (Fond du Lac Anishinaabe) is a combat marine who saw action in An Hua, Marble Mountain and other locations.

Noted journalist, playwright, and poet Jim Northrup (Fond du Lac Anishinaabe) was a combat marine who saw action in An Hua, Marble Mountain, and DaNang.

Research indicates that Native Americans were more likely than non-Indians to see heavy combat and experience on a visceral level the horrors of war. Watch video: Definition of a warrior

Like many Native Vietnam veterans, Northrup suffered Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).  For him, writing helped minimize the symptoms of PTSD. In his poem, Walking Point, Northrup explores the fears that contributed to his PTSD. Watch video: Walking Point

Like many Native Vietnam veterans, Northrup saw connections between the Vietnamese and his own Anishinaabe people. People thought he looked Vietnamese and would speak to him in that language. He saw rice baskets that looked similar to the baskets his own relatives made. One particular encounter with the enemy led to this poem, “She had Hair Like my Grandmother.” Watch video

This last poem, “Ogichidaa,” speaks to the inevitability of war, the family and tribal traditions of the warrior ethic, and to the fundamental fear inherent in sending one’s own child off to war. Watch video: Ogichidaa