The Weaponization of the Navajo Language

Summary

Laura Tohe (Website) joins Andrew (Twitter; LinkedIn) to discuss the stories of the WWII Navajo Code Talkers. Laura is a Diné author and the Poet Laureate of the Navajo Nation. 

What You’ll Learn

Intelligence

• How the Code Talking units were formed
• How the Navajo people used their language as a weapon
• Laura’s father, Benson Tohe’s story
• Did the Japanese ever break the code? 

Reflections

• The relationship between language and the state
• Storytelling and the power of oral history

And much, much more …

Quotes of the Week

“When they got into the service they were told, ‘Now you're going to use your language to develop a code.’ They said, ‘But, back at home they told us not to speak Navajo, and now they want us to develop a code in Navajo?’ So, they were not only astounded, they were puzzled why they would be asked to do this when they were in a school where their identity was being erased.” – Laura Tohe.

Resources 

SURFACE SKIM

*SpyCasts*

• The 18-Year-Old Soviet Spy on the Manhattan Project: Ted Hall with Director Steve James (2023)
• ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL: “The D-Day Deception” with National WWII Museum Curator Corey Graff (2023)
• St. Ermin’s Hotel, London – The History of a Legendary Spy Site with Stephen Duffy (2023)
• Hitler’s Trojan Horse – Nazi Intelligence with Nigel West (2023) 

*Beginner Resources*

• 1942: Navajo Code Talkers, Intel.gov (n.d.) [short article]
• Basic Navajo Introduction, YouTube (2012) [3 min. video]
• American Indian Code Talkers, WWII Museum (n.d.) [short article]

*Featured Resource*

• Code Talker Stories, Laura Tohe (Rio Nuevo, 2012)

DEEPER DIVE

Primary Sources 

• Navajo Code Talkers: Oral History Interviews (various)
• Proclamation 4954 -- National Navaho Code Talkers Day (1982)
• Memorandum from Commander General Vogel to the Marine Corps Regarding Enlistment of "Navaho" Indians (1942)

*Wildcard Resource*

• Diné Bahaneʼ: The Navajo Creation Story

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