8. The Winged Monkeys are a representation of the plight of dispossessed and enslaved Native Americans and Asian laborers
The Winged Monkeys of Oz are a race of intelligent and mischievous flying monkeys who were cursed by Princess Gayelette for playing a prank on her fiancée and enslaved to a magical Golden Cap, the wearer of which could command the monkeys to perform any three tasks. Acquired by the Wicked Witch of the West, she used the monkeys to enslave Winkie County and retain dominion over her lands until upon her death it passed to Dorothy; later Glinda, the Good Witch of the South, granted the cap to the monkeys themselves thereupon freeing them from the curse.
It has been repeatedly suggested that the Winged Monkeys are a subtle depiction of the condition of Native Americans in the United States, specifically the Plains Indians, with their leader explaining to Dorothy that “we were a free people, living happily in the great forest, flying from tree to tree, eating nuts and fruits, and doing just as we pleased without calling anybody master…This was many years ago, long before Oz came out of the clouds to rule over this land.” Within this statement is an unquestionable allusion to the arrival of European settlers to the North American continent and the subsequent enslavement and eradication of the native populations. Baum himself wrote extensively on the subject of Native Americans, and whilst displaying the typical racist overtones of his day also showed a degree of compassion and sympathy for the dispossessed and marginalized people. It has also been contended that the Winged Monkeys concurrently represent the situations of indentured Asian laborers in the western United States, bound like the monkeys in bondage to foreign powers and compelled to obey.