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

SpyCast

News, Education, History

4.4 • 1.6K Ratings

🗓️ 14 November 2023

⏱️ 61 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

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

Transcript

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1:45.0	They felt that this is the language that was given to them by the holy people and it's a language that could be used in the military which they did. The story of the Navajo Code Talkers of World War II is one of the most
2:10.0	fascinating in the history of secret communications. In effect, Native American
2:15.3	peoples sent their languages into battle on behalf of the United States. The irony,
2:21.0	as this week's guest points out, is that Uncle Sam had already done so much
	...

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