‘Medicine Bags and Dog Tags,’ by Al Carroll
By
John Christian Hopkins, Today correspondent
Story Published:
Oct 16, 2008
Story Updated:
Oct 16, 2008
Al Carroll’s “Medicine Bags and Dog Tags: American Indian Veterans from Colonial Times to the Second Iraq War” is like a merry-go-round: you anticipate fun, with ups and downs, but when the ride is over you end up right back where you started.
His book, published by the University of Nebraska Press, promises to look at Native veterans from colonial times to the current Iraq war, and how Native culture influenced the military.
It’s a grandiose ambition, and it only partially succeeds.
Too often, the 285-page book – the final 60 pages consisting of a bibliography and index – comes across as a college term paper, padded to book length. In fact, in several instances, Carroll seems to repeat the same points – nearly word for word – in different chapters.
Carroll’s work does merit some praise in tackling a complex issue and often meeting – if not raising – the bar.
The main problem seems to be that Carroll, an unenrolled member of the Mescalero Apache tribe, isn’t sure what he wants to do with this book. He decries how Natives are stereotyped in niche characters, like the helpful Tonto, the savage Magua or the in-tune-with-nature/spiritual Billy Jack.
But in later chapters, he relates how some Natives revealed visions – from deceased relatives to an eagle – that guided them through war.
He debunks the myth of scalping, only to later include comments from various Native vets about how they took scalps or celebrated with Scalp dances.
If it weren’t a stereotype, one might conclude that Carroll spoke with a forked tongue, spouting outrage at these base images while including soldiers’ statements that reinforce those very images.
Chapter 2 comes as a surprise, as Carroll spends nearly a dozen pages talking about white soldier Robert Rogers. Although Rogers is credited with blending traditional Native warfare with American military, Carroll seems to spend most of the chapter arguing that Rogers wasn’t an “Indian hater” as some historians paint him to be. In fact, Carroll devotes more time to defending Rogers than he gives to any other single Native soldier he mentions. The chapter reads as if the course he has plotted hit a detour.
Another area where Carroll comes up lacking is the inclusion of all Natives. His work comes across as if there were/are no Indians east of the Iroquois.
He specifically mentions the Narragansett tribe of Rhode Island on page 175, in a passing reference to a T-shirt declaring “Fighting Terrorism since 1492,” and two pages later makes passing reference to a Mohegan veteran from Connecticut.
Earlier in the book, in a section on naming ships for Natives or Native imagery, he mentions two 17th century Narragansetts sachems – without identifying the tribe – in a dismissive way, saying they were “honored” with ships because they were friends of the white man.
While his statement is true enough in explaining Canonicus, it shortchanges Miantinomi, who became an enemy of the colonists and sought to build a Native alliance not unlike those attempted later by Tecumseh and Pontiac.
Carroll also manages to work in several references regarding sports mascots, presumably how they generally depict Natives as “savage” and “warriors.”
While he detests this image of the Native, Carroll provides various statements from veterans about how they viewed themselves as warriors or saw a chance to recapture their tribe’s warrior tradition.
The best parts of “Medicine Bags and Dog Tags” are the few instances in which Carroll talks about the actual experiences of Native veterans, such as Francis Pegahmagabow, an Ojibway known as “the Indian Sergeant York.” The reader glosses over that tale of his singlehanded capture of some 300 German soldiers, wishing there was more about that incident.
Carroll’s book would have been more compelling had he spent more time telling the stories of men like Pegahmagabow, Navajo code talker Teddy Draper or Iwo Jima hero Ira Hayes.
Still, even if the merry-go-round doesn’t really take you anywhere, it still provides a few moments of fun.
Carroll’s work can be summed up by borrowing a quote from Vietnam veteran Richard Chagin (page 150): “It’s not that much, but by God, it’s all we’ve got.”
Sunday, Jan 10 at 12:29 PM Agent Orange wrote ...
Akex Linder- Neo-Nazi, KKK, Hosts NAFPS. What A Scam Dr. Al Carroll and NAFPS RUN out Of Washington, D.C.
35250529Wednesday, Nov 18 at 7:01 AM RedMe wrote ...
If this man is a professor at St. Philip's College in Texas the way he claims, why is he not listed on the college's faculty list? What a fraud... http://www.alamo.edu/spc/dyn/directory.aspx
32281959Friday, Aug 21 at 10:11 AM Agent Orange wrote ...
NAFPS hosted by WhiteNationalists bandwidth http://www.pagan.com/FauxIndians/images/ NAFPS host.jpeg 28radio.net- Hammerskins net radio alexlinder.com..Al C.is a Agent Provacator
28062341Thursday, Jul 30 at 10:25 AM Nancy Red Star wrote ...
Al Carroll attacks The Late Homer St. Francis, a Marine Vet, and The Abenaki Nation on his NAFPS Hate Site. In fact,Vermont statute S-1-S.117 Vermont gives recognition to the Sokoki Band. Why would The Fulbright sponsor Al Carroll? Check out Youtube KKK- William Fulbright history lesson.
27050684Wednesday, May 6 at 4:13 PM Naitve Vets wrote ...
Mr. Carroll is clueless about Native vets. He really is. His arguments' go nowhere and he loses the reader from the beginning. I am a Vet of the 1st Gulf War. This idiot Mr. Carroll from what I understand was a medic. In other words, Carroll did not see any real combat, he most likely was a bed-pan changer. So how does this make Carroll an authority on Native vets? It doesn't. Carroll revealed his bizarre obsession with a fully enrolled Comanche man named Dr. David Yeagley. Carroll is a quack!
21029762Sunday, Apr 19 at 6:05 PM My people fought your wars wrote ...
The comments above sound like the same white guys who attack Dr. Carroll for having the guts to go after new agers who sell fake versions of Indian traditions. From their comments I doubt they even read the book. The book may not be perfect, but this type of vitriol usually only comes from those with a prior agenda, such as having their fraud funds tampered with. Read the book on its own merits, without the internet drama of stalkers like the previous "reviewers".
19863647Thursday, Nov 13 at 7:10 PM RE: USMC VETERAN wrote ...
The book goes off on too many bizarre tangents. Carroll even devotes about 10 pages to an ad hominem personal attack against an enrolled Comanche man named Dr. David Yeagley. Like what does that have to do with Native Vets? Then I find out Carroll runs some anti-Indian hate site called NAFPS and it all came together. Al Carroll does not care about Native vets, he is all about libel and slander, that's why his book tanked. I want my money back.
12284584Wednesday, Nov 12 at 7:15 PM Sgt.Jim Matthews wrote ...
Don't even bother wasting money on this anti-Indian trash. You can download the entire book for free at http://gigapedia.org/. Carroll is a wanna-be Apache. In his bio he says he's Irish and Mexican. What a poser. Sgt.. Jim Matthews 2nd Battalion, 4th Infantry Zabol Province, Afghanistan
12238463Wednesday, Nov 12 at 6:45 PM USMC VETERAN wrote ...
I found Carroll's presumptions about Native Veterans extremely irresponsible and disrespecting. As a Native Vet I expected more than just high school level diatribes and immature references from an alleged "Mescalero Apache". Carroll insidiously seemed to generalize all Native Vets, almost as if Carroll was demanding us to salute him, instead of him telling how Natives, not only east coast tribes, but the plains and northwest Native Vets gave their lives in service of this country with valor.
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