John Daw (1870–1965) was the last surviving

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

Indian Scout veteran who had served in the

American Indian Wars The American Indian Wars, also known as the American Frontier Wars, and the Indian Wars, were fought by European governments and colonists in North America, and later by the United States and Canadian governments and American and Canadian settle ...

. He was a

Navajo The Navajo (; British English: Navaho; nv, Diné or ') are a Native American people of the Southwestern United States. With more than 399,494 enrolled tribal members , the Navajo Nation is the largest federally recognized tribe in the United ...

given the Navajo name at birth. His parents, grandparents, as well as other close relatives were part of the

Long Walk of the Navajo The Long Walk of the Navajo, also called the Long Walk to Bosque Redondo ( nv, Hwéeldi), was the 1864 deportation and attempted ethnic cleansing of the Navajo people by the United States federal government. Navajos were forced to walk from t ...

Fort Sumner Fort Sumner was a military fort in New Mexico Territory charged with the internment of Navajo and Mescalero Apache populations from 1863 to 1868 at nearby Bosque Redondo. History On October 31, 1862, Congress authorized the construction of For ...

, and were confined with the other Navajo at Fort Sumner in the 1860s. He enlisted in the U.S. Army on May 7, 1891, with the name John Daw. He was assigned to the U.S. Army 2nd Cavalry, which was posted at

Fort Wingate Fort Wingate was a military installation near Gallup, New Mexico. There were two other locations in New Mexico called Fort Wingate: Seboyeta, New Mexico (1849–1862) and San Rafael, New Mexico (1862–1868). The most recent Fort Wingate (186 ...

in the

New Mexico Territory The Territory of New Mexico was an organized incorporated territory of the United States from September 9, 1850, until January 6, 1912. It was created from the U.S. provisional government of New Mexico, as a result of ''Santa Fe de Nuevo México ...

. After being issued uniforms, guns, ammunition, and horses, he felt the cavalry soldiers' training was very thorough. He stated that the target practice and other military training was continued until they were very highly trained soldiers. He worked as a tracker, specifically looking for

Apache Indians The Apache () are a group of culturally related Native American tribes in the Southwestern United States, which include the Chiricahua, Jicarilla, Lipan, Mescalero, Mimbreño, Ndendahe (Bedonkohe or Mogollon and Nednhi or Carrizaleño and ...

, and he served in this capacity until he left the service on December 5, 1894. In the last years of his life he lived in a

hogan A hogan ( or ; from Navajo ' ) is the primary, traditional dwelling of the Navajo people. Other traditional structures include the summer shelter, the underground home, and the sweat house. A hogan can be round, cone-shaped, multi-sided, or sq ...

with his wife at the Red Lake Trading Post near

Tonalea, Arizona Tonalea ( nv, ) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Coconino County, Arizona, United States. The population was 549 at the 2010 census. It has also been known as Red Lake. __TOC__ Geography Tonalea is located at (36.317714, -110.970341) ...

on Navajo Nation land. At that time, he was a

sheep herder A shepherd or sheepherder is a person who tends, herds, feeds, or guards flocks of sheep. ''Shepherd'' derives from Old English ''sceaphierde (''sceap'' 'sheep' + ''hierde'' 'herder'). ''Shepherding is one of the world's oldest occupations, i ...

, drove his own wagon, and claimed he could hear an approaching automobile from 10 miles away, although his eyesight was no longer good. His wife Susie's eyesight was good, but her hearing was poor. He died in 1965, and he was buried on Navajo Nation land in

Coconino County, Arizona Coconino County is a County (United States), county in the north-central part of the U.S. state of Arizona. Its population was 145,101 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The county seat is Flagstaff, Arizona, Flagstaff. The count ...

. His grave site is in Red Lake, and it is listed as a historic grave site in the county. There is also a mountain summit named after him called John Daw Mesa, which is located just east of Red Lake.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Daw, John 1870 births 1965 deaths American people of the Indian Wars United States Army soldiers Navajo military personnel 20th-century Native Americans

See also

References