Navajo Code Talkers

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Navajo Code Talkers What did they do for the war effort?

Transcript of Navajo Code Talkers

Page 1: Navajo Code Talkers

Navajo Code Talkers

What did they do for the war effort?

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Where did the idea of using the Navajo language

come from?Philip Johnston

Engineer and veteran of WWI Son of a Navajo missionary Knew Navajo customs and language fluently Knew the military was looking for a new

communication code to use against the Japanese Successfully presented his idea to the Marine

Corps and it begun in the spring of 1942

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The Navajo Language

Spoken only by the Navajos in their reservations in the Southwest

At the time was an unwritten languageComplex: no alphabet or symbolsTonal: vowels rise and fall when pronounced

and change meaning with pitchThe language represents the Navajos’

relationship with the world around them

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The Code

Why are secret communications important in a war?

Navajos had to learn military terms in English first.

Had to create Navajo equivalent for the term. (Many words were not in their language.)

For secrecy no written code was allowed in battle - they had to memorize each word.

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4 Basic Rules for Memorization

The code words had to have some kind of logical connection to the term to which they referred

Code words had to be unusually descriptive

Code words had to be shortThey had to avoid words that could be

confused with similar words

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Examples of Military Navajo Words

Major General = So-na-kih (Two Stars)Observation Plane = ine-ahs-jah (Owl)Battleship = Lo-tso (Whale)Submarine = Besh-lo (Iron Fish)

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Alphabet CodeNavajo did not have a written language.the Navajo words "wol-la-chee" (ant), "be-la-

sana" (apple) and "tse-nill" (axe) all stood for the letter "a.”

Why would they use more than one word for the same letter?

In order to say "Navy" in Navajo Code they could say, "tsah (needle) wol-la-chee (ant) ah-keh-di- glini (victor) tsah-ah-dzoh (yucca)."

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Recognition

Not recognized until 1969 after the code was declassified in 1968

Received bronze medallions1982: Bruce King, Governor of New Mexico,

proclaimed April 10th as the New Mexico Code Talker Day. Later in that same year, President Ronald Reagan made August 14th as National Code Talker Day.

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1989: Memorial in Phoenix, ArizonaFlute was a Navajo communications tool that

signaled the end of confrontation and coming of peace.

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Congressional Gold and Silver Medals (2001)

Sen. Jeff Bingaman - “Honoring the Code Talkers Act”

President Bush presented the Navajo Code Talkers with Congressional Medals.