Navajo Code Talkers Research Paper

During World War II, you must think that the Japanese would want to kill everyone that was not on their side, right? Well, you were wrong. If a Japanese person (or more) saw a Navajo, they would capture them and torture them until they will give them what their new “language” all means. But, just because there was a Navajo in war, does not mean that they know the code.

Both Navajo Code Talkers and “American Indians in the United States Army,” are about the Navajo code talkers. However, Navajo Code Talkers focuses on the training these Native Americans went through, along with how the code was created. The article “American Indians in the United States Army,” explains how the code was used during the war. The final excerpt, “ What’s

This investigation evaluates to what extent did the Navajo code talkers aid the American military during WWII? In order to assess the extent to which these soldiers assisted the American military during WWII, this investigation focuses on their involvement in transmitting military messages in their native tongue, and the events surrounding these transmissions. In addition, the contribution of other Native American code talkers is considered and compared to that of the Navajos specifically within the investigation.

recruit 200 Navajos. In May 1942, the first 29 Navajo recruits attended boot camp. Then, at

Several Indian tribes such as Comanches, Kiowas, Navajos, and Apaches broke the peace with Mexico and started attacking them. For this reason, Mexico returns the attack on the Indian enemies in which the violence expanded to nine states. These events are forgotten by both the Americans and Mexicans in which it plays a huge role in the outcome of the U.S. Mexican War. The conflict between Mexico and the Indian people cause many deaths, the enslavement of people, destruction and stealing of animals or

Joseph Bruchac’s novel Code Talker tells the story of the Navajo Code Talkers who played a vital role in the US. conflict with Japan throughout World War II. The narrator, Ned Begay, is a Navajo soldier who wonders why the Japanese supported the war so strongly while Americans grew more fatigued of the war every day. After the war, he learns about an organization called Tokubetsu Kōtō Keisatsu; although the name was often shortened to Tokkō, this agency was more notoriously known as the Thought Police. The agency was a military group that controlled Japan’s population by imprisoning or murdering anyone who spoke against the war movement or criticized the government.

Most people believe that World War II has been just Japan and their allies versus the U.S any allies we might've had. What people don't know is the U.S had to face Japan being able to interrupt messages sent between U.S forces and decode it to know what we were going to do before we did it. Luckily the U.S had a trick right in their own country.

There was a raid, Pony Express versus the Paiute Clan. It started in the1860’s, traders from the Pony Express kidnapped and raped two Paiute girls. When that happened tribal members responded with absolute force to get the two girls. Therefore, the tribal members killed five whites in the process of rescuing the two girls. So, when the Americans heard what happened the Americans went

In order for the plan to go into action, on October 31, 1862, the establishment of the Fort Sumner was declared and war was made against the Mescalero Apache and Navajo Indian tribes (Robert 2004). As shown in figure 1, a 300 miles route was walked by children, women, and men for about two months. Once they reached the destination, an estimation of 200 people had died from starvation. A couple years later had gone by when the United States decided to introduce a treaty in1868 that allowed the Navajos to return to their homes also now called the reservations.

The world view of the Navajo who had lived for many centuries on the high Colorado Plateau was one of living in balance with all of nature, as the stewards of their vast homeland which covered parts of four modern states. They had no concept of religion as being something separate from living day to day and prayed to many spirits. It was also a matriarchal society and had no single powerful leader as their pastoral lifestyle living in scattered independent family groups require no such entity. This brought them repeatedly into conflict with Spanish, Mexicans and increasingly by the mid-nineteenth century, Americans as these practices were contrary to their male dominated religiously monolithic societal values. The long standing history

Many wars were fought between the Indians and whites. One of them occurred in 1864 to 1865. During the summer of 1864 Cheyenne and Arapaho warriors fiercely fought against U.S. troops. Cheyenne leader, Chief Black kettle led attacks on miners, Farms and travelers. Weary of fighting he soon accepted a tribal land outside Pueblo Colorado but only to see his men, woman and children massacred by drunken Colorado militants (not US regulars). Another war that was fought was between the U.S. troops and the Sioux tribe. In 1863 the Sioux tribe was defeated but regained strength in 1866. Their leader, Red Cloud, soon retired to a reservation in the Dakotas but they didn’t stay long. The army knew that the tribes, Kiowa, Commanche, Arapaho, Cheyenne and Sioux were gathering at a general location. So the army tried to pincer them south of the Yellowstone River with a three-pronged force. The Indians decided to attack each prong separately.

The times have changed, but the spirit lives on. The Navajo are a Native American tribe that resides as their own nation in the southwestern part of the United States. The land consists of desert and mountains, so the Navajo had to learn many skills to live and adapt with the land. They gathered plants and nuts to eat, hunted animals for meat, and used the skins to keep warm at night as the temperature in the desert drops to below freezing. As times changed the Navajo adapted their skills to benefit them. They got herds of goats and sheep and used wool from the sheep to weave amazing blankets. Today, the Navajo tribe teaches their cultural traditions and beliefs to their children and followers. They believe nature is sacred and they give thanks to the animals and plants they use for food. The Navajo passed on their beliefs that the people emerged into the world to escape a flood in the lower world. The Navajo also tell many stories to show respect for nature and the spirits and neglect the ones of being treated unlawfully. The Navajo Nation allows these people to try and maintain the lifestyle that their ancestors lived, with some modern exceptions. Most Navajo people live on the reservations, but sadly, they are poverty stricken. However, it is a place where they are sheltered from a growing society. Due to all of this, the Navajo’s unique traditions and beliefs, along with its prior mistreatment, justify the formation of their own nation.

During the Pacific portion of World War II, increasingly frequent instances of broken codes plagued the United States Marine Corps. Because the Japanese had become adept code breakers, at one point a code based on a mathematical algorithm could not be considered secure for more than 24 hours. Desperate for an answer to the apparent problem, the Marines decided to implement a non-mathematical code; they turned to Philip Johnston's concept of using a coded Navajo language for transmissions.

"In very exceptional cases, they made no mention of their plans or movements to any of their embassies, so that, in these instances, there were no codes to decipher. The attack on Pearl Harbour was such a case" (Ford,

The Navajo believe there are two classes of beings, The Holy people and the Earth people. The Earth people of the Navajo must do everything they can to maintain the peace and harmony of Mother Earth since they are an integral part of the universe. According to Discover Navajo, “it is believed that centuries ago the Holy People taught the Navajo how to live the right way and to conduct their many acts of everyday life“ (Navajo culture, 2008). The Navajo people were taught to live one with animals, insects, man, and plants. Mt. Blanca to the east, Mt. Taylor to the south, San Francisco Peak to the west and Mr. Hesperus to the North near Durango, Colorado, were put in place by the holy people in the four different directions. Jet Black, Turquoise, White Shell, and Yellow Abalone represent the four directions. The Navajo culture uses the number four to symbolize many other different things. For example, there are four seasons and four distinct directions.