“Are Not My Men the Same?”: Race, Ethnic Identity, and Pawnee Indian Military Service during the Indian Wars

Between 1864 and 1877, several hundred Pawnee Indians served as scouts for the United States Army. They participated in a series of campaigns: the Powder River Expedition (1865), guard duty along the Union Pacific Railroad (1867-1868), the Republican River Expedition (1869), the Red River War (1874), and the Dull Knife Fight (1876), as well as numerous smaller and lesser-known actions. The term “scout” does not fully cover the contributions of these men, who, apart from scouting, engaged enemy tribes in battle, carried dispatches, escorted railroad surveying crews, guided scientific expeditions, patrolled important lines of communication, and performed countless other tasks.