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Standard:
HS.C2.1 Explain the importance of individual participation in civic and political institutions.

Objectives:
1. Students will analyze document.
2. Students will prepare for a class discussion regarding similarities of characteristics.
3. Students will add characteristics that students most resonates with to the concept map used in sections 1 and 2.

Description:
A closer look at the individuals in the unit.

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Winter 2001, Vol. 33, No. 4

By Adam Jevec
As Americans and Japanese troops fought island to island in the Pacific during World War II, the Japanese used their considerable skill as code breakers to intercept many messages being sent by American forces. After the war, however, Japan's own chief of intelligence admitted there was one code they were never able to break-the Navajo code used by the Marine Corps. This is the story of that code and the men who made it work for the Marines.
Last summer, the U.S. Congress honored a group of World War II veterans who provided a unique service to the nation's war effort. In a ceremony in the Capitol on July 26, the original twenty-nine Navajo "code talkers" received the Congressional Gold Medal, and subsequent code talkers received the Congressional Silver Medal. Their unbreakable code helped the U.S. Marine Corps battle across the Pacific from 1942 to 1945. Until 1968, they and their code remained secret. Their story further comes to national attention when the motion picture Windtalkers opens in June 2002. Written and photographic records in the National Archives document the code talkers' wartime contributions and tell us how this unusual military program got started.

Maintaining secrecy, particularly during wartime, is vital to the national security of every country. On the battlefield, secrecy is essential for victory, and breaking enemy codes is necessary to gain the advantage and shorten the war.

During World War II, sending and receiving codes without the risk of the enemy deciphering the transmission required hours of encrypting and decrypting the code. The U.S. Marine Corps, in an effort to find quicker and more secure ways to send and receive code, enlisted Navajos as code talkers.

Philip Johnston initiated the Marine Corps's program to enlist and train Navajos as messengers. Johnston, the son of a missionary, grew up on a Navajo reservation and became familiar with the people and their language. He was also a World War I veteran who knew about the military's desire to send and receive messages in an unbreakable code. Johnston said he hit upon the idea of enlisting Navajos as signalmen early in 1942, when he read a newspaper story about the army's use of several Native Americans during training maneuvers with an armored division in Louisiana. 1 The article also stated that, during World War I, Native Americans had acted as signalmen for the Canadian army to send secure messages about shortages of supplies or ammunition. The U.S. Army's program, however, was never given the priority that the U.S. Marine Corps assigned to Johnston's idea in 1942.

The day after Johnston read the article, he went to the naval office in Los Angeles and told them the story. Believing it had possibilities, the office sent Johnston to the headquarters of the Eleventh Naval District in San Diego, which was convinced that if Johnston's idea could be accomplished, it would be a "marvelous thing." Johnston went on to Camp Elliot in San Diego to meet Maj. James E. Jones. It took him some time to convince Major Jones about the potential for using a Native American code, but after Johnston spoke a few Navajo words to the baffled major, Jones decided to give his idea a trial run. Within two weeks, Johnston assembled four Navajos in the Los Angeles area and arranged to meet Major Jones back at Camp Elliot on February 27, 1942, with the demonstration to occur the next day.

Before returning to Camp Elliot, Johnston sent a preliminary report to Major Jones and Maj. General Clayton B. Vogel, the commanding general of the Amphibious Corps, Pacific Fleet, that explained why he believed Navajos would make the best signalmen. He described his own knowledge of the Navajo people, gave general background and population statistics about Native American tribes, and explained the potential of the Navajo language as a military code. Johnston stressed the complexity of the Navajo language and the fact that it remained mostly "'unwritten' because an alphabet or other symbols of purely native origin" did not exist, with the exception of adaptations by American scholars, anthropologists, and Franciscan Fathers, who had compiled a Navajo dictionary. 2

Johnston's proposal also discussed how fluency in reading Navajo could be obtained only by those "individuals who are first highly educated in English, and who, in turn, have made a profound study of Navajo, both in spoken and written form." Besides himself, Johnston claimed that very few people in the world could understand the Navajo language. Because of Johnston's intimate knowledge of the Navajo reservation, its people, and their language, and because the Navajo had the largest population of Native Americans, he believed that they were the best candidates for recruitment. Johnston thought that the tribe's seclusion made the Navajo a culturally and linguistically autonomous people compared with other native groups. The Navajo reservation, which was located largely in Arizona but also comprised portions of New Mexico, Utah, and Colorado, covered an area of twenty-five thousand square miles of isolated, sparsely populated, and largely inaccessible land.

Johnston also believed that many Navajos had been given an education that adequately prepared them for jobs outside their traditional lifestyles. In the years before 1942, Navajo children attended government-established schools on the reservation that taught English grammar. A large number of them also attended schools outside the reservation that offered classes in trades and occupations. With proper training, Johnston was sure that Navajos who fit the age and education requirements for military service could be taught to transmit messages in their native language.

Prior to the demonstration on February 28, 1942, General Vogel had installed a telephone connection between two offices and had written out six messages that were typical of those sent during combat. One of those messages read, "Enemy expected to make tank and dive bomber attack at dawn." The Navajos transmitted the message almost verbatim: "Enemy tank dive bomber expected to attack this morning." The remaining messages were translated with similar proficiency, which duly impressed General Vogel. A week later, on March 6, 1942, Vogel wrote a letter to the US Marine Corps commandant recommending the initial recruitment of two hundred Navajos for the Amphibious Corps, Pacific Fleet. 3

After detailing the nature of the demonstration and its success, Vogel outlined the advantages of Johnston's proposal. Vogel noted that the Navajo dialect was regarded as "completely unintelligible" to other tribes and that only twenty-eight Americans were thought to possess a more than superficial knowledge of the language. In addition, Vogel noted that, according to Johnston, the Navajo tribe was the only one that had not yet been infiltrated by Germans posing as students, art dealers, and anthropologists in order to study the various tribal dialects of American Indians. This point was to become moot, as the code talkers were never deployed on the European front. But the statement nevertheless revealed the priorities of Vogel and the military on the whole-to maintain the utmost secrecy and security in their communications.

Although Vogel's letter was firm in its support, it nevertheless alluded to some of the problems that would trouble the project as it progressed. Prior to the demonstration, the Navajo transmitters had been allowed a few minutes to "improvise" words for military terminology not in the Navajo vocabulary. While the demonstration itself was a success, over the next year, the development of a consistent and universally applicable Navajo code for the countless military terms would prove to be a major obstacle. Vogel also stated, on the basis of Johnston's assurances, that one thousand Navajos with the necessary qualifications could be found for the project. When the program eventually expanded, however, meeting such expectations proved difficult.

Other objections soon came to light. One colonel stated that the supposed primary advantage of the code talkers over the encrypted system-speed-was actually of little benefit in the field. When speed was of the essence, messages were usually sent uncoded because the enemy would not have time to intercept them and respond. The colonel also was reluctant to endorse a proposal that would have "combat directing officers depending on an order being translated" in a language that they themselves had no chance of understanding. 4

Despite these objections, the initial recruitment of code talkers was approved, with the stipulation that the Navajos meet the normally required qualifications for enlistment, undergo the same seven-week basic training as any other recruit, and meet strict linguistic qualifications in English and Navajo. On May 5, 1942, the first twenty-nine Navajos arrived at the recruit depot in San Diego, California, for basic training, where they were trained in the standard procedures of the military and in weapons use. Afterward, they moved to Fleet Marine Training Center at Camp Elliott, where they received special courses in the transmission of messages and instruction in radio operation.

At Camp Elliott the initial recruits, along with communications personnel, designed the first Navajo code. This code consisted of 211 words, most of which were Navajo terms that had been imbued with new, distinctly military meanings. For example, "fighter plane" was called "da-he-tih-hi," which means "hummingbird" in Navajo, and "dive bomber" was called "gini," which means "chicken hawk." In addition, the code talkers also designed a system that signified the twenty-six letters of the English alphabet. For example, the letter A was "wol-la-chee," which means "ant" in Navajo, and the letter E was "dzeh," which means "elk." Words that were not included in the 211 terms were spelled out using this alphabet.

The Navajos soon demonstrated their ability to memorize the code and to send messages under adverse conditions similar to military action, successfully transmitting the code from planes, tanks, or fast-moving positions. The program was deemed so successful that an additional two hundred Navajos were recommended for recruitment as messengers on July 20, 1942. Philip Johnston offered his services as a staff sergeant to help develop the code talker program. On October 2, 1942, Johnston enlisted and began training his first class in November and spent the remainder of the war training additional Navajo recruits. After the new recruits went through the Marine Corps's basic training course, they came to Johnston for what he termed an "extremely intensive" eight-week messenger training course.

As the code talker program grew, so did the development of the code. A cryptographer who monitored the code talkers' transmissions concluded that the code might be broken because using the alphabet to spell out words not in the Navajos' vocabulary produced too many repetitions. The code talker alphabet therefore grew from twenty-six to forty-four terms by expanding the number of words used for the most frequently repeated letters- E, T, A, O, I, N, S, H, R, D, L, and U. For example, the letter A could be designated by the words "be-la-sana" and "tse-nihl," which mean "apple" and "axe," as well as the original "wol-la-chee," meaning "ant." The original 211 vocabulary terms were also expanded to 411.

By April 1943 the additional two hundred recruits had completed their training, while the initial recruits were attached to marine divisions in the South Pacific. Following recommendations of marine divisions in the field, the Marine Corps determined that the program should be continued and expanded further. According to the new proposal, an additional 303 Navajos were to be recruited at 50 men a month for six months.

The enlistment of additional Navajos was not a simple task, however, because many new recruits were not qualified. In addition, Navajos who volunteered through Selective Service were often sent to other branches of the military. The Marine Corps reduced the quota to twenty-five men a month, made arrangements with Selective Service to activate voluntary induction of Navajos, and even tried to transfer Navajos from the army into the Marine Corps, but its goals still remained unattainable.

On the front lines in the South Pacific, the Navajo code talkers experienced their own varying degrees of success. The official Marine Corps records contain very few battle reports related to the Navajo code talkers, citing activity only at Guam, Palau, Okinawa, and Iwo Jima. Reports from Iwo Jima, typical of those related to code talkers from the front, highlight both the limitations and strengths of the program.

One of the primary limitations was the lack of available qualified Navajos to participate. Many offices, regiments, and battalions remained without the new recruits, which rendered coded communication between these offices and those with the code talkers impossible.

Despite the development of unique military terms for the Navajo code, the lack of military terminology in the original Navajo vocabulary remained an obstacle. Because the Navajo messengers had trained at different times and worked in different locales, the development of certain dialects and modified vocabularies was inevitable. To offset this problem, officers frequently exchanged Navajos from one division into another to try to ensure that all code talkers used a standard code. Problems persisted, however, and after Iwo Jima it was recommended that the Navajos be "thoroughly trained in a standard Navajo military dictionary." 5 Quarterly training sessions were advised, in which messengers could review standard Navajo military code, as well as such duties as radio procedure and radio headings, to maintain a high degree of efficiency.

Even with these limitations, overall assessments from Iwo Jima and other battles showed that there was an interest in continuing the development of Navajos as code talkers. The primary strengths of the code talkers were the amount of secrecy that they ensured and the versatility with which they could be used. When compared to other messengers, the Navajos provided a valuable line of communication by radio that was both secure and error-free. Capt. Ralph J. Sturkey, in his Iwo Jima battle report, called the Navajo code the "the simplest, fastest, and most reliable means" available to transmit secret orders by radio and telephone circuits exposed to enemy wire-tapping. Captain Sturkey also wrote that the "full value of Navajo Talkers would not be appreciated until the Commander and Staff they are serving gain confidence in their ability." 6 In addition to functioning as messengers who provided a secure means of communication, the Navajos proved at Iwo Jima and other battles to be excellent general-duty marines, useful in a variety of operations.

It is estimated that between 375 and 420 Navajos served as code talkers. The program was highly classified throughout the war and remained so until 1968. Though they returned home on buses without parades or fanfare and were sworn to secrecy about the existence of the code, the Navajo code talkers are now making their way into popular culture and mainstream American history.

The "Honoring the Code Talkers Act," introduced by Senator Jeff Bingaman from New Mexico in April 2000 and signed into law December 21, 2000, called for recognition of the Navajo code talkers. The act authorized the President of the United States to award a gold medal, on behalf of the Congress, to each of the original twenty-nine Navajo code talkers as well as a silver medal to each man who later qualified as a code talker.

The medals were awarded during a ceremony in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol on July 26, 2001. The room was electric with emotion. One of the most moving features of the ceremony was seeing the large number of members of the Navajo nation-both veterans and their families and friends. Many medal recipients were wearing their Navajo Code Talkers Association regalia. Five of the original twenty-nine code talkers are still alive, and four were able to attend the ceremony: Allen June, Lloyd Oliver, Chester Nez, and John Brown, Jr. Family members represented those who could not be present, and they held signs with the picture of their code talkers.

Members of Congress expressed gratitude to the Navajos who had risen above cultural oppression to answer the call when their country needed them and developed the most successful military code of the time. President Bush hailed the code talkers as men "who, in a desperate hour, gave their country a service only they could give." After his remarks, President Bush presented the gold medals, sharing a moment with each veteran.

John Brown, Jr., addressed the assembly, speaking at length about how thankful he was to be honored, his pride in his fellow code talkers, and how important it was to remember the "ultimate sacrifice" paid by the many Americans who lost their lives during the war. After speaking in Navajo for an extended period, Brown received a round of laughter when he joked, "Maybe Japan is listening!"

The most spirited speech of the afternoon came from Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps Alford McMichael, who brought the crowd to its feet when he concluded with these appropriate words: "Semper Fidelis code talkers! Semper Fidelis my fellow Marines! Semper Fidelis my fellow Americans."

Excerpts from the Navajo Code, Part 1; Folder 6, Box 5; History and Museums Division; Records Relating to Public Affairs; USMC Reserve and Historical Studies, 1942-1988; "C" Course to Wash. Daily News; Records of the U.S. Marine Corps, Record Group 127, National Archives at College Park.

See also: NARA's Digital Classroom for the Navajo Code Talkers lesson plan.
Notes
1. Interview with Philip Johnston at Flagstaff, AZ, by John Sylvester, Nov. 7, 1970, Doris Duke Number 954, The American Indian History Project Supported by Miss Doris Duke, Western History Center, University of Utah; Folder 5, Box 5; History and Museums Division; Records Relating to Public Affairs; The USMC Reserve and Historical Studies, 1942-1988; "C" Course to Wash. Daily News; Records of the U.S. Marine Corps, Record Group (RG) 127, National Archives at College Park (NACP), College Park, MD.

"Indian Jargon Won Our Battles," by Philip Johnston, folder 7, box 5, History and Museums Division, Records Relating to Public Affairs, USMC Reserve and Historical Studies, 1942-1988, "C" Course to Wash. Daily News, Records of the US Marine Corps, RG 127, NACP.

2. Philip Johnston's "Proposed Plan for Recruiting Indian Signal Corps Personnel," folder 13, box 600, Office of the Commandant, General Correspondence, 1939-1950 (Entry 18A), RG 127, NACP.

3. Gen. Clayton Vogel to the Commandant, USMC, Mar. 6, 1942, ibid.

4. Col. Frank Halford, Director of Recruiting, to the Commandant, USMC, Mar. 26, 1942, ibid.

5. Page 26, folder A8.5-1: Signal Questionnaire, box 77, Records Relating to United States Marine Corps Operations in World War II ("Geographic Files"); Iwo Jima; RG 127, NACP.

6. Page 26, folder A16-10: 5th Marine Division "M" to "R," Annex Oboe to 5th Marine Division Action Report of Iwo Jima Operation, box 90, ibid.

Articles published in Prologue do not necessarily represent the views of NARA or of any other agency of the United States Government.

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Winter 2001, Vol. 33, No. 4 As Americans and Japanese troops fought island to island in the Pacific during World War II, the Japanese used their considerable skill as code breakers to intercept many messages being sent by American forces.

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This digital site tool works like a museum that takes students through information on the Navajo Code Talkers, maps on where they were from, their languages, and even provides examples of some Navajo's. Pictures, maps, texts, and reflection/discussion questions are included for students to browse through. For this museum like tool, students would work in small groups or partners to browse through the entire page and gather more information on the history of Navajo's alone. After this, we'd come back as a class to look at the discussion/reflection questions and have a socratic-seminar type of activity in which everyone has to share something connecting back to this information.

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Play Narration Your browser does not support the audio element.

The Navajo people call themselves the Naabeeho´ Dine'é, or sometimes, Diné. Diné Bizaad is the Navajo term for the Navajo language. In many ways, today's Navajo live like other people in the United States. Fortunately, many Navajos still speak their language. During World War II, about 420 Navajos served as Code Talkers-the most from any Native group. Today, the tribe works to preserve its language for future generations.

More about today's Navajo

Current population: The Navajo have more than 300,000 tribal members.

The Navajo homeland: Four sacred mountains covering 27,000 square miles of the four corners area of Utah, New Mexico, and Arizona define the Navajo homeland, Dinétah.

Arts: Traditionally, Navajo artists were well known for beautiful woven textiles and silver jewelry. Navajo artists today are also musicians, painters, sculptors, and poets.

Tribal government: The Navajo government operates under a constitution with a president, vice president, council (with 88 delegates representing 110 chapters), court system, police force, college, and many other programs and services for the Navajo people.

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Chapter 2: Native Languages | Native Words, Native Warriors

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Native American tribes have lived and thrived upon the North American landscape for thousands of years-since long before there was a United States.

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The article is extremely important for students to read because it discusses the fact that the Navajo Code Talkers were to be kept a secret and they weren't honored until many years after their service. As a class, we'd read this together, and stop at times to reflect on why this is important, why the Navajo Code Talkers weren't honored right away, and how this connects to the world today. Some things I'd mention or have students build knowledge on is how Indians were removed from their own land, abused, why they were to not be honored when everyone else was, and how the discrimination could be applicable or how it connects to any recent events. These would all be guiding questions and activating prior knowledge to enhance critical thinking skills in the classroom.

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HURON, S.D. ? Two South Dakotans are sponsoring legislation to recognize efforts of the Sioux Code Talkers.

Congressman John Thune introduced legislation to honor American Indian war veterans who have never been publicly recognized for their vital service in World War II. Thune is pushing for the United States to fully recognize and award Congressional Gold Medals to the Sioux Code Talkers.

State Sen. Ron Volesky, D-Huron, is sponsoring a bill to honor them on a state level.

The Sioux Code Talkers were overlooked until just a few years ago. They were honored as part of the unveiling of a Veteran's Memorial on the grounds of the state capitol earlier this year.

"It's long overdue and they should be honored," Volesky said.

The Congressional Gold Medal is considered the nation's highest and most distinguished civilian award given by Congress. It recognizes a lifetime contribution or a singular achievement.

The federal government has not publicly honored the Sioux Code Talkers for their heroic duty because of security concerns. However, recently declassified information now makes it possible. During World War II, about a dozen known Sioux Indians were Army radio operators who used their native Nakota, Lakota and Dakota dialects to transmit strategic messages to foil enemy communications. They served in both the Pacific and European theaters.

"It is important for us to honor these veterans whose contributions have, until recently, been ignored," Thune said. "Often sent out on their own to provide communications with headquarters on enemy location and strength, they sometimes spent 24 hours in headphones without sleep or food. Many endured terrible conditions without protection from the enemy. Using three Sioux languages Lakota, Nakota and Dakota, the Sioux Code Talkers were able to communicate messages the enemy was unable to crack."

Military commanders credit the code with saving the lives of countless American soldiers and being instrumental to the success of the United States in many battles during World War II.

Charles Whitepipe of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe and Clarence Wolfguts of the Oglala Sioux Tribe who served in the South Pacific still live in South Dakota.

The medals also would be awarded posthumously to a surviving family member of Sioux Code Talkers Phillip "Stoney" LaBlanc and Eddie Eagle Boy of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, Edmund St. John of the Crow Creek Sioux Tribe, Walter C. John of the Santee Sioux Tribe, Guy Rondell of the Sisseton-Wahpeton Sioux Tribe, John Bear King of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, and Iver Crow Eagle Sr. and Simon Brokenleg of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe.

"As a member of the House Native American Caucus, I want to honor and recognize these brave, dedicated and talented men for providing a service to our country that was invaluable," Thune said. "By embracing the differences between Indians and non-Indians in language and culture, the U.S. armed forces were able to mesh the heritages to overcome oppressors and save thousands of lives.

"These American Indian service men performed a critical service to this country and to the Free World. Their unique skill was given freely and their service was full of courage and ingenuity."

It took an act of Congress and a ceremony by President George W. Bush to honor Navajo Code Talkers this summer. Thune is pushing for the same honor for the Sioux Code Talkers. In 1989, the French government awarded Native American Code Talkers its highest honor.

More than a half-century after they helped win World War II, the nation has paid tribute to the 29 original Navajo Code Talkers who invented a code in their language that the Japanese could not break.

Sioux Code Talkers were among 44,000 Native Americans who served in World War II. More than 12,000 Native Americans fought in World War I. Thousands more served in each conflict since. Today thousands continue to serve as the nation took its forces to Afghanistan.

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HURON, S.D. ? Two South Dakotans are sponsoring legislation to recognize efforts of the Sioux Code Talkers. Congressman John Thune introduced legislation to honor American Indian war veterans who have never been publicly recognized for their vital service in World War II.

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This page provides a video and an article, which is helpful for students in different ways. It basically discusses the history behind American Indians, the Navajo language, and the fight for trying to preserve it for years, since not many people speak the dialects anymore. Vocabulary is also incorporated into both the video and article, in which students can apply in their final assessment essay. This provides a different perspective than just the Navajo Code Talkers in the war, which gives more specific knowledge to students. We'd watch the video as a class, while they would read the article in groups or we could potentially read it as a class, since it's a longer text. We'd focus more on the historical aspects of this reading, as well as applying how the loss of language or preservation of language applies to students in their families or individual lives.

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For part of her life, Sylvia Jackson stopped speaking her native language, Navajo. Like many Native American children, she had little chance to speak her language.

"We had to speak English. So I lost a lot of just speaking the Navajo language."

More than 100 years ago, the U.S. government began sending Native American children to boarding schools. All the instruction was in English. The native cultures and languages of the children were discouraged.

In the last 20 to 30 years, tribal governments have started to promote the teaching of Native American languages in schools. The U.S. Department of Education now also supports Native American language programs.

Today, Sylvia Jackson is a Navajo language instructor in the small town of Holbrook, Arizona. She teaches Navajo to students at Holbrook High School. Her class is taught entirely in Diné, the Navajo language.

Ms. Jackson said both she and her students have an important part in keeping their language alive.

"My parents are actually, they grew up speaking the Navajo language; they're fluent speakers. They're like a dictionary. If I ask them, "How do you say this?" they translate. But me, I'm learning as I'm going."
Navajo Nation

The town of Holbrook is an hour by car from the Navajo Nation. The 69,000-square-kilometer territory is the largest of the 326 Indian reservations in the United States. The Navajo Nation covers parts of four states in the American Southwest. It is about the same size as the country of Ireland.

During the 1800s, increasing numbers of European settlers in America moved west. In 1864, the federal government began a campaign to deport Navajos from their lands. The natives were moved to the northwest in a series of marches called the "Long Walk." The marches took place under the threat of death.

Navajo leaders and the U.S. government reached a peace treaty in 1868. It established the Navajo Indian Reservation.

Today, more than 250,000 people live in the Navajo Nation. They have their own laws, fly their own flag, and elect their own president.

The 2010 United States Census showed that about 170,000 Navajos speak Navajo at home. It is one of the most robust Native American languages today.
A right to speak Navajo
But there is a growing worry that the Navajo language could disappear. Seventy years ago, nearly everyone on the Navajo reservation spoke Navajo as their first language. But today, few young Navajos can speak the language of their grandparents.

A study in 1998 found that only 30 percent of Navajos entering school spoke Navajo as their mother tongue. Just 30 years earlier, that was true of 90 percent of first-grade Navajo students.

Richard Epstein is a linguist and professor at Rutgers University in Camden, New Jersey. He said a language's survival depends on one generation passing down knowledge to the next generation.

"In order to keep a language alive, the adults of the community have to be able to transmit it to the young folks."

Dr. Epstein calls teaching and transmitting your native language to your children a right that should be better protected.

"Everybody should have the right to speak their own language, just as much as they should have the right to practice their religion. Because their language is as good as everybody else's language...So if you take that away, you've taken away a massive resource for knowing something about a part of human life.

"And you've taken away a part of who those people are. Is that right? Everybody should have the right to speak their language and to transmit their language to their children and to keep their culture alive."

On the reservation itself, Navajo language instruction in schools starts at a young age. At Indian Wells Elementary School, 3rd graders are learning how to read, write, and speak Navajo. The school opened in 2001.

Dr. Robbie Koerperich was Indian Wells' first principal. Now, he is the superintendent of the Holbrook Unified School District. He said his district is concerned with preserving the Navajo language.

"The Navajo language itself, I believe, is a major concern on the reservation and in our district, pertaining to the preservation of the language. So the preservation of the Navajo language is part of our mission."

Hortensia is a third-grader at Indian Wells Elementary. She said Navajo language is her favorite class.

"So we could learn it and teach it to other people."
The role of older generations
Hortensia said she often visits her grandmother, or naali in Navajo. Grandparents on the reservation play an important part in passing down both the language and culture to their grandchildren.

Morgan is a Navajo language student at Holbrook High School. She is one of Sylvia Jackson's students. She visits her grandparents' home with her cousins, nieces and nephews. She said she sometimes feels like an outcast.

"With my nieces and nephews and my cousins, they're about my age or a bit older and they don't speak Navajo. And so it's a bit hard when we go out to my grandparents' place and they try to talk to us. And it feels like - when my grandparents and my parents talk together - I feel like, kind of like an outcast, like I don't know what they're saying, but it's like, I want to learn the language so I can carry it on and then teach my kids. And so we won't lose the language."

Some of these students' grandparents and great-grandparents may also have played an important part in U.S. history. During World War II, the U.S. military recruited Navajo speakers. Together, they developed a code to send secret information past Japanese and German code-breakers.

The code was never broken.

Dr. Epstein credits the Navajo language's complex structure for it being such a successful code.

"It was so unbelievably complicated that the enemy couldn't figure out how it worked. And yet we took the children of these people away from their families to train them to speak English only on the grounds that this language was inferior."

Sylvia Jackson was once one of those children. Today, she finds herself at the forefront of keeping her language alive.

"If you just think about it, my parents, if they go, then that's going to be me right there who has to carry that on. If I don't have the knowledge that they had, that's going to be it right there. So, I'm glad that we have students who want to learn the language, who want to keep that language."

I'm Ashley Thompson.

And I'm Caty Weaver.
Ashley Thompson and Adam Brock wrote this story. Caty Weaver and Jill Robbins were the editors.
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Words in This Story

robust - adj. strong and healthy

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Young Navajos Study to Save Their Language

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For part of her life, Sylvia Jackson stopped speaking her native language, Navajo. Like many Native American children, she had little chance to speak her language. Today, she is a Navajo language instructor in Holbrook, Arizona. She finds herself at the forefront of keep her language alive.

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Standards:
HS.SP1.1. Evaluate how events and developments were shaped by unique circumstances of time and place as well as broader contexts.

Objectives:
1. Students will read information and prepare to for a discussion (15 minutes).
2. Students will create a concept map of at least 5 main ideas.

Description:
This article is chosen for the students who enjoy a more direct approach to learning about military history. By including what the unit accomplished from a military stand point. The article is included in hopes to inspire the student to look into significant case studies.

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Navajo Code Talkers: World War II Fact Sheet

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Additional Resources from the Navy Department Library Navajo Code Talkers Dictionary Navajo Code Talkers: A Select Bibliography

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Standard:
HS.C2.1 Explain the significance of civic virtues to a well-functioning constitutional republic.

Objectives:
1. Students will analyze the article and document at least 10 relating details on concept map used in section 1.
2. Students will compare concept maps in groups and explain the significance of information.

Description:
Information on how the code was created and used by the special group of men. The article is included to promote cultural and personal pride and shows students how their unique characteristics can make a huge difference.

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In the heat of battle, it is of the utmost importance that messages are delivered and received as quickly as possible. It is even more crucial that these messages are encoded so the enemy does not know about plans in advance.

During World War II, the Marine Corps used one of the thousands of languages spoken in the world to create an unbreakable code: Navajo.

World War II wasn't the first time a Native American language was used to create a code.

During World War I, the Choctaw language was used in the transmission of secret tactical messages. It was instrumental in a successful surprise attack against the Germans.

Germany and Japan sent students to the United States after World War I to study Native American languages and cultures, such as Cherokee, Choctaw, and Comanche.

Because of this, many members of the U.S. military services were uneasy about continuing to use Code Talkers during World War II. They were afraid the code would be easily cracked, but that was before they learned about the complexity of Navajo.

Philip Johnston's Brainchild

In 1942, Philip Johnston was reading a newspaper article about an armored division in Louisiana that was attempting to come up with another code using Native American languages. Johnston knew the perfect Native American language to utilize in a new, unbreakable code.

As a child, Johnston spent most of his childhood on a Navajo reservation while his parents served there as missionaries. He grew up learning the Navajo language and customs.

Johnston became so fluent in the Navajo language that he was asked at age 9 to serve as an interpreter for a Navajo delegation sent to Washington, D.C., to lobby for Indian rights.

In spite of concerns about the security of a code based on a Native American language, the U.S. Marine Corps decided to give Johnston's idea a try. They approved a pilot project with 30 Navajos and allowed Johnston to enlist and participate in the program.

Getting Started

The first 29 recruited Navajos (one dropped out) arrived at Camp Elliott near San Diego in May 1942. One of the first tasks for these recruits was to develop a Navajo code.

The Navajo language seemed to be the perfect option as a code because it is not written and very few people who aren't of Navajo origin can speak it.

However, the Marine Corps took the code to the next level and made it virtually unbreakable by further encoding the language with word substitution.

During the course of the war, about 400 Navajos participated in the code talker program.

The Code

Word Association

The Navajo recruits began developing the code by taking words from their language and applying to them to implements of war. For example, the names of different birds were used to stand for different kinds of planes.

The initial code consisted of 211 vocabulary terms, which expanded to 411 over the course of the war.

A is for Apple...

In addition, an alphabet system (see below) was also developed by the Code Talkers. It would be used to spell out some of the words not found in Navajo vocabulary.

The first letter of a Navajo word corresponded with one of the 26 letters in the English alphabet. Several different words were chosen to represent the more commonly used letters in order to make the code even more secure.
*Click here to see the entire Navajo Code Talker Dictionary on the US Navy history page.
In Record Time

A skeptical lieutenant decided to test their skills and the code before trusting them to deliver actual combat messages.

The Code Talkers successfully translated, transmitted and re-translated a test message in two and a half minutes. Without using the Navajo code, it could take hours for a soldier to complete the same task.

From then on, the Code Talkers were used in every major operation involving the Marines in the Pacific theater. Their primary job was to transmit tactical information over telephone and radio.

During the invasion of Iwo Jima, six Navajo Code Talkers were operating continuously. They sent more than 800 messages. All of the messages were transmitted without error.

The Navajo Code Talkers were treated with the utmost respect by their fellow marines. Major Howard Connor, who was the signal officer of the Navajos at Iwo Jima, said, "Were it not for the Navajos, the Marines would never have taken Iwo Jima."

Honors

The hard work of the Navajo Code Talkers was not recognized until after the declassification of the operation in 1968.

President Ronald Reagan gave the Code Talkers a Certificate of Recognition and declared August 14 "Navajo Code Talkers Day" in 1982.

In 2000, President Bill Clinton signed a law which awarded the Congressional Gold Medal to the original 29 Code Talkers.

President George W. Bush presented the medals to the four surviving Code Talkers at a ceremony held in the Capitol Rotunda in Washington in July 2001.

Code Challenge

Want to try your hand at deciphering a code in Navajo?

Use the Navajo Code Talker Dictionary below and then scroll to the end to see if you are correct.

1) Decipher the following code to find out who suggested using the Navajo language for secure communications:

Ne-Zhoni-Lin-Tkin-Ah-Jad-Tkin-Ne-Zhoni Ah-Ya-Tsinne-A-Kha-Lin-A-Chin-Klesh-D-Ah-A-Kha-A-Chin

2) Decipher the code below to find out which battle the Navajo Code Talkers used their skills to help the U.S. achieve a victory:

Tkin-Gloe-lh-A-Kha Ah-Ya-Tsinne-Tkin-Tsin-Tliti-Tse-Nill

Navajo Code Talkers' Dictionary

Below is the United States Navy Navajo Code Dictionary alphabet section, revised June 15, 1945.

SPOILER: Answers

Were you correct?
. . .
The answer to the first code is: Philip Johnston

The answer to the second code is: Iwo Jima

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Navajo Code Talkers and the Unbreakable Code

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In the heat of battle, it is of the utmost importance that messages are delivered and received as quickly as possible. It is even more crucial that these messages are encoded so the enemy does not know about plans in advance.

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This is a good article for the first day of the lesson. It gives students a brief overview of who the Navajo Code Talkers were and what they did during World War 2. For this specific text, we'd have the students read as a class, along with the instructors. We would model annotations for the first paragraph, so students know what they're annotating and looking for through the rest of the article. This would also enhance class discussion when thinking about the influence or changes Navajo Code Talkers had on the war.

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What is a code talker? A code talker is the name given to American Indians who used their tribal language to send secret communications on the battlefield. Most people have heard of the famous Navajo (or Diné) code talkers who used their traditional language to transmit secret Allied messages in the Pacific theater of combat during World War II. But did you know that there were at least 14 other Native nations, including the Cherokee and Comanche, that served as code talkers in both the Pacific and Europe during the war? The idea of using American Indians who were fluent in both their traditional tribal language and in English to send secret messages in battle was first put to the test in World War I with the Choctaw Telephone Squad and other Native communications experts and messengers. However, it wasn't until World War II that the US military developed a specific policy to recruit and train American Indian speakers to become code talkers. The irony of being asked to use their Native languages to fight on behalf of America was not lost on code talkers, many of whom had been forced to attend government or religious-run boarding schools that tried to assimilate Native peoples and would punish students for speaking in their traditional language.

The US Army was the first branch of the military that began recruiting code talkers from places like Oklahoma in 1940. Other branches, such as the US Marines and Navy, followed a few years later, and the first class of 29 Navajo code talker US Marine recruits completed its training in 1942. Apart from basic training, these men had to develop and memorize a unique military code using their mostly unwritten language, and were placed in a guarded room until this task was completed.

The first type of code they created, Type 1 code, consisted of 26 Navajo terms that stood for individual English letters that could be used to spell out a word. For instance, the Navajo word for "ant," wo-la-chee, was used to represent the letter "a" in English.

Type 2 code contained words that could be directly translated from English into Navajo, and the code talkers also developed a dictionary of 211 terms (later expanded to 411) for military words and names that didn't originally exist in the Navajo language. For example, since there was no existing Navajo word for "submarine," the code talkers agreed to use the term besh-lo, which translates to "iron fish."

Most code talkers were assigned in pairs to a military unit. During battle, one person would operate the portable radio while the second person would relay and receive messages in the Native language and translate them into English. Their work was highly dangerous especially in the Pacific, because Japanese soldiers would deliberately target officers, medics, and radiomen, and code talkers had to keep moving as they transmitted their messages. The work of hundreds of code talkers was essential to Allied victory in World War II, and they were present at many important battles, including at Utah Beach during the D-Day invasion in France, and at Iwo Jima in the Pacific. In fact, 5th Marine Division signal officer Major Howard Connor stated, "Were it not for the Navajos, the Marines would never have taken Iwo Jima."

Despite their heroic contributions during the war, American Indian code talkers were told that they had to keep their work secret. They couldn't even tell their family members about their communications work. Since the codes that they developed remained unbroken, the US military wanted to keep the program classified in case the code talkers were needed again in future wars. Even when the WWII code talker program was declassified in 1968, national recognition of code talkers was slow. While there was some recognition in the 1970s and 1980s, it wasn't until 2001 that Congressional Gold Medals were given to the Navajo and other code talkers.

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American Indian Code Talkers | The National WWII Museum | New Orleans

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The idea of using American Indians who were fluent in both their traditional tribal language and in English to send secret messages in battle was first put to the test in World War I with the Choctaw Telephone Squad and other Native communications experts and messengers.

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This is a great primary document that students can work together to analyze. This also teaches the difference between reliable/unreliable sources and gives a perspective of the Navajo's from American people. It provides insight on why they could utilize the Navajo's and how they would be able to use their dialect, since no one knew it. Through this document, we'd want students to work together to annotate, analyze, and create discussion on why language is important to preserve. We'd then ask them to find another primary document through their research, most likely in small groups.

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Standard:
HS.H4.2 Explain how artistic, philosophical, and scientific ideas have developed and shaped society and institution

Objectives:
1. Students will listen to media.
2. Students will discuss in small groups (5 minutes) how different ways music is influenced by events.
3. Students will create a way to communicate information on an event by any means except an essay.

Description:
An informational song about their achievements. This source was chosen for many reasons. For centuries humans have been passing down the achievements of their ancestors through song, poetry, and other forms of art. The appeal to our creative side may correlate to reaching the desired depth of knowledge, making this an excellent source to learn about the unit.

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Standard:
HS.H1.6 Analyze the relationship among different regional, social, ethnic, and racial groups and explain how these groups’ experiences have related to national identities.

Objectives:
1.Students will analyze document.
2. Students in small groups will try to fabricate and successfully send a message to another group using the code translations.

Description:
Translation of the words used to transmit messages in battle.

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ALPHABET NAVAJO WORD LITERAL TRANSLATION A WOL-LA-CHEE ANT A BE-LA-SANA APPLE A TSE-NILL AXE B NA-HASH-CHID BADGER B SHUSH BEAR B TOISH-JEH BARREL C MOASI CAT C TLA-GIN COAL C BA-GOSHI COW D BE DEER D CHINDI DEVIL D LHA-CHA-EH DOG E AH-JAH EAR E DZEH ELK E AH-NAH EYE