“My Father the Navajo Code-Talker” – with Laura Tohe
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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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