1. Navajo Code TalkersNM History1 Navajo Code Talkers The “Native” Contribution to WWII

2. Navajo Code TalkersNM History2 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?

3. Navajo Code TalkersNM History3 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.

4. Navajo Code TalkersNM History4 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”.

5. Navajo Code TalkersNM History5 Navajo Code Talkers US Marines recruit a special team of Navajos to create/ develop a code.

6. Navajo Code TalkersNM History6 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)

7. Navajo Code TalkersNM History7 Navajo Code Talkers The US went on the offensive in the Pacific (Guadalcanal) and the Code- talkers were dispatched there with the Marines.

8. Navajo Code TalkersNM History8 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.

9. Navajo Code TalkersNM History9 Navajo Code Talkers The Native Americans NEVER made a mistake despite working continuously for days and receiving more than 800 messages.

10. Navajo Code TalkersNM History10 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.