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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“My Father the Navajo Code-Talker” – with Laura Tohe | SpyCast podcast - Listen or read transcript on Metacast
