The “Native” Contribution to
WWII
Navajo Code Talkers NM History 1

Navajo Code Talkers
• Questions:
• 1. …who were they?
• 2. …when and why did they form?
• 3. …why the Navajos?
• 4. …old words for new things? Can you give an example?
• 5. …what is with the word “code” anyway?
Navajo Code Talkers NM History 2

Navajo Code Talkers
• In 1942, during WWII, the US military needed an unbreakable code.
Why? They needed to communicate in such a way as to make it completely impossible for the Japanese enemy to understand transmissions.
Navajo Code Talkers NM History 3

Navajo Code Talkers
• Brought up with the Navajo language all around him, P. Johnson thought that the incredibly difficult language would prove a perfect “code”--one that would not be “breakable”.
Navajo Code Talkers NM History 4

Navajo Code Talkers
• US Marines recruit a special team of
Navajos to create/ develop a code.
Navajo Code Talkers NM History 5

Navajo Code Talkers
• Make a drawing (include 2 of the 3):
• ….a little battleship..=….a whale (waslo-tse)
• …a bomb…….=…….eggs (a-ye-shi)
• ….a flare…..=……a streak of light (wo-chi)
Navajo Code Talkers NM History 6

Navajo Code Talkers
• The US went on the offensive in the
Pacific (Guadalcanal) and the Codetalkers were dispatched there with the Marines.
Navajo Code Talkers NM History 7

Navajo Code Talkers
• The Code-talkers intercepted key
Japanese messages and the US is able to cut off the enemy’s supplies to the island. The eventual US victory was a turning point in the war.
Navajo Code Talkers NM History 8

Navajo Code Talkers
• The Native Americans NEVER made a mistake despite working continuously for days and receiving more than 800 messages.
Navajo Code Talkers NM History 9

Navajo Code Talkers
• Their code was never broken. Despite all of this, their work was not recognized until 1969. They did not receive the medals they had been promised until 2006.
Navajo Code Talkers NM History 10