Although the practice of naming helicopters after Native American groups predated it, the Army Regulation (AR) 70-28 of 1969 made it an official policy of the US Army to name its helicopters after Native American groups. In a US Army public relations campaign to name the UH-60A in 1977, the Army laid out the rationale for the policy of AR 70-28:

All recommended names must be received no later than 30 April 1977 to be eligible for consideration. All names are not acceptable. AR 70-28, dated 18 June 1976, specifies that Army aircraft should be given the names of American Indian tribes or chiefs or terms. The name should appeal to the imagination without sacrifice of dignity, and should suggest an aggressive spirit and confidence in the capabilities of the aircraft. The name also should suggest mobility, agility, flexibility, firepower and endurance.For brevity, it is suggested the name consist of only one word. The names given Army aircraft are primarily for use in public releases and other documents as a ready reference but have proven popular among Army personnel. In the past some Army aircraft, such as the 0-1 Bird Dog and OH-23 Raven were not given Indian names. In most cases, such aircraft were given their names before the present policy went into effect. These names have not been changed. The last aircraft introduced into the Army without an Indian name is the AH-1G HueyCobra. This aircraft, an outgrowth of the UH-1 Iroquois (Huey), was named by its maker before it was purchased by the Army. When the Army started buying the helicopter the name quickly was shortened by common usage to "Cobra," which is descriptive of its impressive fighting ability. The names of fixed and rotary wing Army aircraft are listed below.

Of particular note is the Army's contention that such names showcase "aggressive spirit and confidence" in the aircraft and "suggest mobility, agility, flexibility, firepower and endurance." Such ideas are reflective of the various tropes associated with Native American groups in American culture. Although the US Army devoted a considerable amount of time fighting Native American groups like the Apache, the archetype of an independent, resourceful, and martial native warrior soon penetrated in popular consciousness and often found expression in American military culture. For example, during the Second World War, some American paratroopers would sometimes don warpaint and mohawks before combat drops.

This presence of many partial or full-blooded Natives in the US military aided this process of selective emulation Native Americans' martial culture. Unlike other minorities in the first half of the twentieth century, the US military did not practice segregation of Native Americans on account of their supposedly "innate" martial skills and the popular idea that service in the armed forces would assist in "civilizing" Native individuals.

For their part, tribal leadership often abetted this process by making a show of unilaterally declaring war on America's enemies, as the Onadaga and Oneida did against the Central Powers in 1917 and 1918. Such gestures were a means to assert sovereignty by these groups by proving they were still independent nations, albeit under the care of the US government. These gestures have also continued in US helicopter procurement. The White Mountain Apache tribal council participated in ceremonies for the Apache and Apache Longbow helicopters prior to their entry into service. While this stereotype of a martial warrior culture often obscures many other facets of Native American life, it remains a popular one and continues to be used by the military despite occasional protests about such cultural appropriation.