Minnie Spotted-Wolf (1923–1987) was one of the first Native American women to enlist in the United States Marine Corps.
Biography Minnie Spotted-Wolf enlisted in the Marine Corps Women's Reserve in July 1943.
Spotted-Wolf, from Heart Butte, Montana, was a member of the Blackfoot tribe. Prior to joining the Marines, she had worked on her father's ranch doing such chores as cutting fence posts, driving a two-ton truck, and breaking horses.White, Cody (25 July 2013). "Minnie Spotted Wolf and the Marine Corps". Prologue: Pieces of History. National Archives. Known for her skill for breaking horses, she described Marine boot camp as: "hard but not too hard.""WWII – First USMC Native American Minnie Spotted Wolf" . Armed Forces History Museum. 29 July 2013.
She served on military bases in California and Hawaii. She worked as a heavy equipment operator and a driver for general officers.
Press coverage of her wartime service included headlines like Minnie, Pride of the Marines, Is Bronc-Busting Indian Queen.Montana Historical Society (26 August 2014). ""You Have to Take What They Send You Now Days": Montana Women's Service in World War II". Women's History Matters. Montana Historical Society
She was discharged in 1947.
After her military service, she returned to Montana, married Robert England, earned a degree in Elementary Education, and spent 29 years as a teacher.
According to her daughter, "she could outride guys into her early 50s."
Tribute In 2019, a section of US Highway 89 in Pondera County, MT was dedicated as "Minnie Spotted-Wolf Memorial Highway”.
See also United States Marine Corps Women's Reserve
References
Sources
Rae, Callum (29 December 2015). "Minnie Spotted Wolf". The Female Soldier. Holm, Tom (2007). Code Talkers and Warriors: Native Americans and World War II. New York: Chelsea House. pp. 34–35. . OCLC 77270989.
Further reading "DoDLive Presents: Profiles in Heritage. National Native American Heritage Month: Minnie Spotted Wolf". United States Department of Defense (Video). 30 November 2011.
External links Photograph of Three Marine Corps Women Reservists, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina at the National Archives and Records Administration, Record Group 208:Records of the Office of War Information, 1926 - 1951. Feature Story Photographs, 1942 - ca. 1945. 16 October 1943.