The American Indian as Soldier, 1890–1919

The American Indian as Soldier, 1890--1919 W. BRUCE WHITE It seems almost paradoxical that in late nineteenth-century America, when Indian resistance was almost at an end and the Indian was popularly depicted as a vanishing race, white Americans were so concerned about the "Indian problem ." It was such a troubling matter, in all likelihood, because the Indian was not vanishing quickly enough; in addition, most of those who wrote of "disappearance " and even "extermination" were actually speaking of assimilation or amalgamation. They hopefully assumed the eradication of a culture Americans had never been compelled to understand, and which appeared to conflict so sharply with the economic individualism of American capitalism. The Indian had been excluded from white society and pushed westward by a numerically and technologically superior foe; now, however, there was no geographical safety valve, and whites were forced to come to social and economic terms with the Indian at a time when rapid changes associated with urbanization and industrialization were making white society unsettled and fearful. The United States was for the first time alarmed by large numbers of unemployed itinerants, or "tramps." At such a time the prospect of thousands of unemployed Indian vagabonds was an unwelcome one. At a time when Americans were alarmed by the specter of socialism and the possible development of a militant urban proletariat, red tribalism seemed an additional, even if ill-defined, ideological threat. The reservation system and land in severalty were programs with a broader purpose than simply the separation of the Indian from as much land as possible; they were designed to repress aggression and eradicate Indian culture by filling Indian breasts with desire for capitalism's system of economic needs and rewards. One Indian characteristic which had forcibly impressed itself on the white imagination, however, was the Indian's martial nature, which not infrequently won grudging admiration and respect from whites. It is thus not surprising that whites in the later nineteenth century should be concerned that this quality be neutralized, and at the same time speculate that it might, if controlled and used constructively, facilitate the process of acculturation and assimilation. The institution which could best accomplish this, it was increasingly argued during the 1870sand 1880s, was the United States Army. Precedents for such employment existed in abundance on both the international and the national scenes. As Richard Preston has recently pointed out, THE CANADIAN REVIEW OF AMERICAN STUDIES VOL. VII, NO. 1, SPRING 1976 heterogeneous armies have been the rule rather than the exception in world history, and in most cases, he argues, the result has been successful. Where European nations came into contact with native peoples while creating overseas empires, they commonly incorporated natives into their armed forces, and usually chose those who, by their resistance, were believed to have demonstrated martial qualities. 1 Late nineteenth-century Americans were well aware of the European example, and arguments for the creation of Indian units in the American Army were often buttressed with analogies to French colonial troops, the British Indian Army, or to Cossacks in the Imperial Russian Armies. The image of Indians as Cossacks was particularly compelling, for their employment as irregular cavalry would utilize their own natural method of warfare. 2 National precedents for the military utilization of Indians were also numerous. Indian scouts had been employed by the Army throughout American history, both as individuals and in organized units. Indian units were formed during the Civil War for a series of expeditions into Indian Territory ,3 and this led to the use of Indian militia units and scout companies in the postbellum West. In 1866 Congress provided for the enlistment of not more than 1,000 Indian scouts, who were to receive the same pay and allowances as soldiers. 4 Army officers and civilians alike considered the result successful, and this led to proposals for the enlistment of regiments, troops or companies of Indians as a regular component of the Army, a proposition which gained added force after the utilization of four black regiments had been judged successful. A number of civilians favored the idea, including several Commissioners of Indian Affairs. Francis A. Walker argued that it would help to integrate...