The U.S. Indian Scouts served with great distinction during the US-Indian Wars and beyond but remain largely hidden from public view. When they do gain some attention, it is usually in a generic manner as “the scouts.” This talk by Ryan Booth (History) aims to re-center their importance and to help explain how some Native Americans would fight other Indigenous people. To be sure “the enemy of my enemy” axiom applied in the fractured tribal relationships in the U.S. West, but it was not the whole story. The martial race theory, which held that some ethnicities were more warlike than others, played a strong role and one that would impact future generations of Native Americans serving in uniform through the twentieth century. The U.S. Indian Scouts represented the vanguard of this notion that continues to have consequences for Indigenous communities across America.  Hosted by the WSU Common Reading Program in observance of Veterans’ Day.

Zoom link: https://wsu.zoom.us/j/91813721422