American Indian Code Talkers
As with the other minority triumphs talked about in this guide, a portion of the American Indian population also had a triumph that is not well known. While this triumph is not the same as the others, it is still just as important, and that is their involvement in World War I and II as Code Talkers for the military. These men and women greatly assisted during the both wars, and yet they are scarcely spoken of. They did something for the United States that few others could, and because of that, they deserve to be recognized for their commitment and risk, especially because they were helping a government that had wronged them many times before (NMAI, 2020).
Though the United States government had greatly harmed the American Indian population, including forcing them off their lands, confining them to reservations, and attempting to erase their traditional cultures, when World War I and II were occurring, many American Indian men and women volunteered to join the service (NMAI, 2020). This decision to join the service, even after all the pain that the government had put them through, was related to American Indian tradition and history. For thousands of years men worked from boyhood to be honored with being asked to join a warrior society, and if they were selected, they would protect their tribes, and do anything to protect and help their people, even if that was something outside of fighting (NMAI, 2020). Because of this tradition, when the wars were taking place, they joined the service, as protecting their people and homeland was a vital part of their beliefs and traditions (NMAI, 2020).
Enemy interception of Allied communications during World War I was dangerous, as these communications would include tactical plans and the movement of troops (NARA, 2016). Because of this, American Indian soldiers were asked to assist, as their languages were not widely known. The American Indian men who participated as Code Talkers were mainly from the Choctaw tribe, though men from other tribes were also involved (NMAI, 2020). During their communications, they gave battle messages in the Choctaw language, and thankfully, these messages were never translated (NARA, 2016). Because of their commitment, and willingness to use their native language to assist with messages, the Code Talkers were able to help the United States Army win many battles in France, with these battles helping lead to the end of World War I (NMAI, 2020).
During World War II, as opposed to the first world war, along with many American Indians enlisting into the military, many were also recruited, as the military wanted to again use the Code Talkers to help them win the war (NMAI, 2020). The tribes that had people join or be recruited included the Comanche, Meskwaki, Chippewa, Oneida, Navajo, and the Hopi tribes. When on the battlefield, Code Talkers were verbally given a message in English, and then translated said message into one of the two code types, and sent it out (NMAI, 2020). The two code types were Type One Codes, which were spoken by the Navajo, Comanche, Hopi, and Meskwaki Code Talkers, in which an english word was assigned to each letter of the alphabet, and they then translated those words into Navajo before sending out the message. Type Two Codes were used by all other Code Talkers, which were simply their everyday languages used to convey messages as opposed to messages going through two levels of translation (NMAI, 2020). The work of the American Indians who joined during the wars provided a vital and life saving service, and in the end, more than 12,000 American Indian men served during World War I, and during World War II, 44,000 men and 800 women served (NMAI, 2020).
Collections Detailing Code Talkers
Use of American Indians as Communication Linguists Subject Files (2809378), National Archives and Research Administration, College Park, Maryland.
Use of American Indians as Communication Linguists Subject Files, which is part of the Historic Cryptographic Records Collection, contains a variety of information about the communication systems used by Code Talkers during the second world war. This includes codes and ciphers, history of intelligence practices, and code breaking on both sides of the war.
Photographs of Navajo Indian "Code Talkers" in the U.S. Marine Corps (532395), National Archives and Records Administration, College Park, Maryland.
The Photographs of Navajo Indian "Code Talkers" in the U.S. Marine Corps collection was assembled in the 1980s by the Defense Audiovisual Agency. It consists of images of Navajo Code Talkers during World War II, and includes images of Code Talkers while in the field, as well as while on break.
Navajo Oral History Project, Darrell W. Krueger Library, Winona State University, Winona, Minnesota.
The Navajo Oral History Project consists of interviews with Navajo Elders, including those who acted as Code Talkers during World War II. The Code Talkers who participated in this project include Bill Toledo, Peter MacDonalds, Chester Nez, Samuel Tso, as well as five others.