SPECTRUM 2007-2008

In Ceremony, Leslie Marmon Silko presents an image of World War II Native American veterans that is reflective of the reality of that period, the reality of a group that would ultimately fuel greater equality and rights for all Native Americans in future generations. Native Americans made large contributions to World War II yet experienced arguably the most difficult time in returning home. Silko’s Ceremony is based on Tayo, a young Laguna man who returns home from serving after losing his cousin with whom he grew up and joined the service. Tayo experiences severe psychological disturbances that cause him difficultly in returning to his family, reservation, and life as a whole. He and other veterans find refuge in alcohol to ease and dull the emotional trauma. Loss of military status effectively renders him and other Native American veterans second-class citizens once again; the respect they acquired as military soldiers is lost, and government’s actions are severely lacking and often detrimental.

This experience has been echoed by many of the nearly 45,000 real-life Native American soldiers afflicted by Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and related issues after returning home from fighting for United States in World War II–despite the unprecedented effort on the part of various Native American Nations to contribute to the war cause. Through reconnection with his tribe and ancient traditions, Tayo finds healing for himself and his community, yet others along the way are lost. Many of the tribes reached out to their veterans after WWII, which allowed some to find healing and peace. Patty Loew, creator of Way of the Warrior, a documentary on Native Americans in war, found that often Native American communities were more active in reintegrating war veterans than mainstream America (Salinger). Still, as in Ceremony, many remained lost and continued to be negatively impacted by their experiences and never truly found their way home. Ira Hayes, perhaps one of the most well-known Native American WWII veterans for his participation in the flag raising at the battle of Imo Jima, is a prime example of this occurrence and died of alcoholism and sorrow as young man.

In the characters and scenes of Ceremony, we can see the common characteristics that were displayed by many Native American WWII veterans. This includes joblessness despite a larger mainstreamed population, poverty, alcoholism, failure to reintegrate, psychological disturbances, and violence. The characters of Pinky, Leeroy, and Harley mostly find temporarily reservation and odd jobs for income. Tayo and his friends spend the majority of their time and money, including sparse compensation checks, on alcohol binges that contribute to the psychological issues and the general failure to thrive of these characters. Violence erupts between Tayo and his group on more than one occasion, violence which can often be connected to their drinking. Tayo primarily experiences bouts of physical illness, vomiting, confusion, and flashbacks. All of these are symptoms of or related to PTSD. During this time period, PSTD wasn’t recognized as an official disease but was an identified issue in wars throughout history. It took on a variety of names including “combat fatigue,”? “shell shock,”? and “soldier’s heart”? (”Post Traumatic Stress Disorder”?).

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, as it is now called, is defined as a disease that comes about from experiencing a life threatening, highly frightening, and/or unsafe experience. Understandably, the occurrence of this emotional illness is prevalent in war veterans at rates as high as 30-50% for certain minority groups, including Native Americans (”Post Traumatic Stress Disorder”?). The disease often presents itself as “anxiety, cognitive and somatic complaints, depression, alcohol dependence, and amnesic periods”? (Hierholzer, Munson, Peabody, Rosenberg). These symptoms can be coupled with fear, anger, grief, horror, numbness, disbelief, flashbacks, and sleep disturbances (”PSTD and Older Veterans”?). When examined, it is clear Tayo and the others were experiencing varying levels of PTSD. While limited research and follow-up studies have been done on PTSD in WWII, the National Center for PTSD estimates one in twenty WW II veterans experienced PTSD (Epstein, Miller). However, research on Vietnam showed that Native Americans were twice as likely as Caucasian soldiers to experience this issue; this is likely similar to WWII statistics, with rates far higher among Native Americans and many going unreported. The prevalence of this disease is perhaps influenced by the unique background and role of Native Americans in society both past and present. Modern statistics show that more Native Americans than non-native Americans are likely to be treated for alcohol-related issues in relation to PSTD; Native Americans are also over represented within the homeless veteran population (”Veterans of Culturally Diverse Populations”?). At the same time Native American veterans are less likely to seek and receive help, partially due to lack of trust of the government on the part of Native Americans. Some seek or receive treatment from tradition tribal medicine, and many others receive no treatment at all. While these statistics represent veterans 30-60 years after the time of Ceremony, their experiences and reasons are quite similar to those of Tayo’s and real-life Hayes’ time. It appears that any treatment given to Hayes failed him miserably. Tayo, Grandma, and others lacked faith in the Government’s ability to help Tayo and other veterans in their recovery process. Grandma even calls for their medicine man, and eventually Tayo receives further guidance from another healer and medicine man, Betonie (Silko),

The experiences of the characters of Ceremony are strikingly similar to those of true Native American WWII veterans. In particular, Ira Hayes’ story is clear evidence of these occurrences. Ira Hayes, from the Gila River Indian Reservation, joined the Marines and was trained as a paratrooper in 1942. Two-and-half-years later found him at the Battle of Imo Jima where he took part in the defeat at Mount Surbachi. It was here that he and five other military members raised the flag in a photo taken by Joe Rosenthal that would become an iconic symbol of WWII’s veterans. Later that year, Hayes returned home and was honorably discharged from the Marines. While Hayes was an upstanding Marine, his homecoming marked the beginning of a nearly ten year struggle with alcoholism and PSTD that ended with his death in 1955 (”Ira Hayes”?). He never accepted the common proclamation of his heroic status; in fact, he appeared to greatly dislike the attention. At a ceremony honoring him and the other flag raisers, he answered a reporter who asked him about how he liked all of this attention with a simple “I don’t”? (”Ira Hayes”?). In comparison, Tayo denied that he was a hero of any type; he felt like a failure for letting his cousin down and wished it had been him who had not returned home (Silko). The National Center for PTSD supports this by saying, “Most war heroes don’t feel brave or heroic at the time, but they do their duty, despite often feeling overwhelmed and horrified, in order to protect others”? (”PSTD and Older Veterans”?). Furthermore, Hayes once said in reference to his post WW II experience and subsequent problems, “I was sick. I guess I was about to crack up thinking about all my good buddies. They were better men than me and they’re not coming back. Much less back to the White House, like me”? (”Ira Hayes”?).

Hayes returned a very troubled man, much changed from his pre-war years. He struggled with severe alcoholism and was arrested on account of this more than fifty times. Even after returning to the reservation and his family, Hayes was unable to reintegrate successfully back into society. In 1955, after an argument with an acquaintance and a night of drinking, Hayes was found dead in his own blood and vomit; he was said to have died from alcohol and exposure, a horribly tragic ending to struggles that stemmed from his experiences during and after his WWII service. It is true that not every Native American veteran’s life took this sad turn–though unfortunately a far larger number of Native American veterans than acceptable lived such a life after returning home. Struggling with PTSD and alcoholism and with few places to turn, some of these veterans’ lives came to a tragic end or the remainder was spent struggling with alcoholism and PTSD; this is truly an unacceptable tragedy within a group who had sacrificed so greatly. In Ceremony, Tayo, Harley, Emo, and Leeroy demonstrated similar behavior with three of their lives coming to a violent end. The deaths of these characters played into the overall plot of Ceremony, yet their struggles too stemmed from WWII service, lack of help, and subsequent psychological and emotional afflictions including PTSD and alcoholism. Perhaps their deaths could be thought to have multiple meanings on account of this information.

As previously mentioned, nearly 45,000 (combined of those on and off reservation) Native Americans fought in World War II, and another 40,000 worked in the defense industry (Morgan). Many of them joined in the effort early and willingly as Tayo and Rocky in Ceremony. The ratio of Native American soldiers to population was greater than any in the United States; overall one third of all eligible Native American men served in WWII. Many Native Americans sought to meet minimum requirements in order serve, and some tribes contributed as many as 70% of their populations to the military, nearly every able bodied man eligible. Overall, 40% more Native Americans voluntarily enlisted than non-Native Americans. (Morgan). Most tribes openly encouraged their men to enlist, and while the Nationalities Act gave all Native American’s dual citizenship, it also required them to resister for the draft for the first time. Even traditionally peaceful nations such as the Hopi supported their soldiers and welcomed them with open arms and purification ceremonies that were common within tribes after a member returned from war. Patty Loew found that “Every Native American Community I visited had purification ceremonies for returning soldiers”? (Salinger). Silko’s Ceremony is largely centered on a re-purification Ceremony of sorts, though of larger portions and implications.

Certain Native American nations felt that the draft requirement undermined their sovereignty granted under the Indian Reorganization Act; however, this still didn’t affect the willingness of Native American men to enlist. The Iroquois Confederacy had independently declared war more than 20 years earlier, so they were naturally on board, passing a draft act of their own which send many of their young men into service (Morgan). Most men, however, enlisted on their own. In Ceremony, we see Rocky, Tayo’s cousin who is killed during service, craving acceptance into white society which drives him and, in turn, Tayo to enlist. The recruiter set up on the reservation proclaimed, “Anyone can fight for America “even you boys”. Now I know you boys love American as much as we do, but this is your big chance to show it!…You can enlist now and you’ll be eligible for everything-pilot training-everything”? (Silko 64-65). This may well have been the same tactics that were used to encourage young men to enlist. In 1942, the military send recruiters to the Navaho agency schools to enlist men into their trial code-talker program though little information, especially the negative aspects, were shared with recruits (Wilson). After the program’s initial members successfully created a secret code based on the unique Navaho tongue, the military returned to the schools, and reservation to recruit hundreds more into the program.

The Navaho tribe played a crucial part in the war through the use of their native language to develop a code that never was broken by the Japanese (Wilson). Major Howard Conner, Fifth Marine Division’s Signal Officer, said of the Marine’s landing and involvement at the Iwo Jima battle, “The entire operation was directed by Navajo code” were it not for the Navajo Code Talkers, the Marines never would have taken Iwo Jima.”? Navaho code talkers were among the greatest of American heroes for their dedication and sacrifice; however, they were never properly recognized due to being sworn to secrecy. After returning home, they received no celebration or fanfare and instead were treated to the same difficult experiences that all of the brave Native American soldiers were subjected to (”The Honoring the Navaho Code Talkers Act: Statements on Introduced Bills and Joint Resolutions”?). Native Americans as group contributed hugely to WWII, and as a result of this dedication, great change took place within the United State in respect to Native American life and status.

Native Americans wanted to defend their homeland, and as a result they attained privileges, respect, and benefits that were largely out of reach for Native Americans of that time; however, treatment was not always fair, and many Native Americans received the harshest of assignments and their problems were often as good as ignored in the post WWII period (Salinger). In Ceremony, Tayo also expresses his awareness of the loss of respect and status as an American Soldier though none of the others want to hear this painful truth. Tayo says to his friends during one of their drinking binges:

One time there were these Indians, see. They put on uniforms, cut their hair. They went off to a big war. These Indians got treated the same as anyone: Wake Island, Imo Jima. They got the same medals for bravery, the same flag over the coffin they had the uniform and they didn’t look different no more. They got respect. The first time you walked down the street in Gallup or Albuquerque you knew. The war was over, the uniform was gone. All of a sudden that man at the store waits on you last, makes you until all the white people bought what they wanted. And the white lady at the bus depot, she’s real careful now not to touch you when she counts out you change. (Silko 42)

This hard truth weighed on them all, but these fictional characters were not experiencing fictional issues; racism and hardship continued for the Native American solider returning home from war. Hayes shared these experiences and feelings, which is supported by the comments of fellow Marine and flag raiser Rene Gagnon, who at Hayes’ funeral said, “Let’s say he had a little dream in his heart that someday the Indian would be like the white man “” be able to walk all over the United States’ (”Ira Hayes”?).

Among the Native Americans serving were men of the Lumbee tribe of the North Carolina region. They too expressed their experiences with these issues:

The very people who picked cotton and tobacco for 50 cents a day, attended Indian-only schools, and existed in a segregated society offered all they had to their country. And though they helped win a war that “made the world safe for democracy,”? they returned home to the Ku Klux Klan and separate restrooms. They had tasted equality, now they were determined to fully liberate themselves and their people. (”Never that Far: Lumbee Men and World War II”?)

Due to the Native Americans’ integration into the American military, racial boundaries were weakened; post-WWII, more Native Americans were living off reservations than ever before and were creating lives in the city. Many veterans and those taking part in the defense industry had grown accustomed to higher incomes that military and defense jobs provided. The war did, in fact, provide opportunities for Native Americans, but these opportunities interrupted the former way of life (Morgan):

World War II became a turning point for both Indians and Caucasians because its impact on each was so great and different. Large numbers of Indians, on the other hand, saw for the first time the non-Indian world at close range. It both attracted and repelled them. The positive aspects included a higher standard of living, with education, health care, and job opportunities. The negatives were the lessening of tribal influence and the threat of forfeiting the security of the reservation. Indians did not want equality with whites at the price of losing group identification. In sum, the war caused the greatest change in Indian life since the beginning of the reservation era and taught Native Americans they could aspire to walk successfully in two worlds. (Morgan)

In the 50’s the misguided and likely intentionally misrepresented attempts of the U.S. government to complete some kind of comprehensive integration of Native Americans into mainstream society due to the massive post WWII changes manifested as the Relocation and Termination Acts. These effectively stripped Native Americans of previous tribal rights and status and generally had disastrous effects on nearly every tribe (Osburn). In the following years, Native Americans recognized that this effort did little to boost their people’s position in society and instead stripped their culture and reinforced their second class place. This recognition lead to the American Indian Civil Rights movement of the 60’s and 70’s, which saw the tribes being reinstated and new policies being made. Policies such as the “Indian Self-Determination Act”? were the start of new initiatives to improve Native American reservations while maintaining cultural and tribal control (Henson). These occurrences find their roots in the experiences of Native Americans who bravely stepped forward to fight for a country that often denied them so much.

Silko’s Ceremony is an inspiring work of fiction that incorporates many post WWII aspects that are clearly based reality. Silko portrays characters that display similar effects and issues as real life Native American WWII veterans, which is made clear through statistics, firsthand accounts, and the life and death of Ira Hayes. It is also evident that the actions and experiences of Native American soldiers and veterans immediately post WWII influenced the actions and outcomes of future decades, ultimately leading to greater civil rights and equality for all Native Americans. It could be said that this is symbolically represented within Ceremony by Tayo’s epic journey to the healing of himself and his community. Though they often struggled, these men’s actions and experiences laid a strong foundation for change for the future generations of their people.

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