The picture of Native Americans in uniform for many begins and ends with the “code talkers,” those volunteers who were employed during World War II to transmit secret messages for the U.S. military in the Pacific theater using their native languages. The 2002 John Woo film, “Windtalkers,” bolstered this quintessential image in most American minds.

Native American language, bravery, and the long overdue recognition of service were represented in the movie, but they took a back seat to starring actor Nicolas Cage, a U.S. Marine assigned to protect the code talkers. As movie critic Roger Ebert wrote for the Chicago Sun-Times, the code talkers served “merely as a gimmick in an action picture.”

The American public’s understanding of Native American military service remains surprisingly minimal, a likely result of limited cultural representation and a complex historical legacy. Many may also find it difficult to reconcile how so many Indigenous people could answer the call to serve a nation that historically mistreated their ancestors.

Yet despite this painful history, American Indians and Alaska Natives serve in the armed forces at five times the national average. Native Americans make up roughly 1.4% of the U.S. population, yet no racial or ethnic group in America sends a larger share of its people into uniform. The pattern runs back more than a century. Nearly 12,000 Native men registered to serve in World War I, years before Congress recognized Native Americans as citizens in 1924. In Vietnam, more than 42,000 Native Americans served, and about 90% of them volunteered. Across all of America’s history, at least 29 Native Americans have earned the nation’s highest award for valor, the Medal of Honor. For tribal communities, those numbers have a face: most families can name a parent, grandparent, sibling or cousin who wore the uniform. In Indian Country, service passes from one generation to the next.

That tradition runs deep in Creek history. A February 1974 issue of Soldiers Magazine bearing the headline, “Warrior From West Point,” tells the story of David Moniac, a Creek Indian who was the first Native American to graduate from the Army academy. Moniac graduated from West Point in 1822, one of 40 cadets to graduate out of an initial class of 119. Within months, he resigned his commission, went home to Alabama, began to farm, raise horses and build a family. For a young man who seemingly owed the federal government so little, that might have been the end of his military story. But in 1836, he chose to put the uniform back on, joining a unit called the Creek Regiment of Volunteers. Moniac rose to the rank of Major, the only native officer to command his tribesmen, and ultimately gave his life while serving in Florida. 

Similar legacies have rung true all across Indian Country for more than 200 years. Moniac’s story of heroism, determination and, above all, sacrifice is emblematic of the service of so many other Native Americans. In World War I, about five percent of Native soldiers were killed, five times the rate for U.S. forces overall. Half a century later in Vietnam, an estimated one in four eligible Native Americans served, compared to about one in 12 non-Natives. My father, a Poarch Creek Indian, was among them, serving two tours in Vietnam that earned him the Purple Heart. He followed in the footsteps of his own father, who joined the Navy for stints in World War II and the Korean War.

Soldiers Magazine closed its tribute to Moniac with a line that succinctly illustrates the reality for so many Native American service members: “He died as he lived, in two worlds: as a Major in the service of the United States Army—and as an Indian warrior in the service of his people.” Generations of native servicemen have exemplified these dual callings, unwavering in their commitment to their family, their communities, their land and their country. 

Many enlist for these reasons, others simply for employment, educational opportunities or a sense of adventure. Whatever the reason, their service deserves to be recognized, not reduced to the fringes of a Hollywood production. I was honored to work with the United States Senate Committee on Indian Affairs in 2000 when legislation was passed to have the President award the Congressional Gold Medal to the Navajo Code Talkers. And in 2008, Congress passed legislation recognizing all Native American Code Talkers representing approximately 16 Tribal Nations and the branches in which they served during WWI and WWII. 

The depth of Native Americans’ service to the armed forces exhibits the devotion of Indian Country to a cause greater than themselves. From Alaska to Alabama and everywhere in between, tribal families have sent their sons and daughters to defend our country for generations, just as non-Native families have.

Each year, Veterans Day falls during Native American Heritage Month. This year, I hope Americans honor all our veterans, including by recognizing how much Native Americans have given and how rarely it is remembered.

Robbie McGhee is Vice Chair and Chief Government & Public Affairs Officer of the Poarch Creek Indians, the only federally recognized tribe in Alabama.