In observance of Veterans’ Day, Ryan Booth will give a Common Reading Talk, “Hidden in Plain Sight: The U.S. Indian Scouts, 1866–1947,” at 4:30 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 7, in CUE 203. The talk will also be available via Zoom.
Booth, a faculty member in the Department of History, brings to the topic expertise in Native American and U.S. military history. He will explore how the contributions of U.S. Indian Scouts, who have served with great distinction in the military since 1866, often remain largely hidden from public view. To remedy this, Booth re‑centers their importance and addresses commonly held theories that have impacted generations of Native Americans serving in uniform as well as their communities. In particular, he will address the “martial race theory,” which held that some ethnicities are more warlike than others.
This talk is part of a year‑long series of events designed to complement WSU’s use of Robin Wall Kimmerer’s “Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants” as the 2022–2023 Common Reading. More about the program, upcoming events, and a WSU Teaching Guide can be found at CommonReading.wsu.edu.
