Warrior Spirit: The Story of Native American Patriotism and Heroism by Herman J. Viola (review)
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Warrior Spirit: The Story of Native American Patriotism and Heroism by Herman J. Viola
Steven M. Fountain
Warrior Spirit: The Story of Native American Patriotism and Heroism. By Herman J. Viola. Foreword by Debra K. Mooney. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2022. ix + 149 pp. Illustrations, contributors, index. $19.95 paper.
Warrior Spirit: The Story of Native American Patriotism and Heroism delivers on its promise to reorient readers to consider the legacy of Native military service. Short biographies of more than a dozen Native Americans who served the United States Armed Forces are interspersed throughout the text. The content tilts heavily toward the modern for reasons scholars will [End Page 356] find obvious but may pass by younger readers; seven of the ten chapters range from World War I through the War on Terror.
A suitably brief introduction dispels notions that American Indians are inherently warlike, emphasizing patriotism and veterans’ reflections on war and service. The first two chapters focus on eastern tribes’ experiences from the American Revolution through the Civil War and Indian scouts in the West. The remainder of the book covers World War I and II, the Cold War, and the War on Terror alongside topics such as counting coup, code talkers, and women warriors.
Viola, the author and editor of dozens of books ranging from textbooks to academic works to mass market titles found on souvenir store bookshelves, employs a formula here that is oriented toward potential classroom use. Warrior Spirit will engage middle and high school readers, and the brief biographical chapters lend themselves to comparative readings and discussion. The chapters are short enough for classroom use and would be especially suited for use in student research projects emphasizing the continuing legacy and experiences of Native Americans.
The drawbacks of this slim volume are few. The many grayscale images are not as flashy as they might be in color. Viola and his co-contributors do not shy away from glimpses of reservation culture that may be worth investigating further, but which may also be uncomfortable for teachers without the support of curriculum under development. Emphasis on Crow pride in enemy deaths and statements that warriors don’t cry tilt toward glorification of warfare more than understanding the costs of war or the lives of soldiers. Teachers looking to emphasize Native American history beyond the nineteenth century will find ample material in the thematic chapters to pull in Native and non-Native students alike.
期刊介绍：
In 1981, noted historian Frederick C. Luebke edited the first issue of Great Plains Quarterly. In his editorial introduction, he wrote The Center for Great Plains Studies has several purposes in publishing the Great Plains Quarterly. Its general purpose is to use this means to promote appreciation of the history and culture of the people of the Great Plains and to explore their contemporary social, economic, and political problems. The Center seeks further to stimulate research in the Great Plains region by providing a publishing outlet for scholars interested in the past, present, and future of the region."
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