Last of the Windtalkers

[Taliesin]

I first heard about the Navajo in the X-Files episode "Anasazi". The tagline at the beginning of that one was "Éí 'Aaníígóó 'Áhoot'é" which is Navajo for "The truth is out there".

Look, we all hate war, and that's as it should be, but I have to say that I'm somewhat inspired by these guys. Apparently they made all the difference to the Allied forces' WW2 efforts. They devised a code based on their language that the Japanese couldn't break (owing to it being an unwritten language that was only spoken in south west America).


You can read all about it here. It's significant because the last of the original 29 Navajo Americans who devised this code has died. Chester Nez was awarded the Audie Murphy Award for distinguished service and passed away in his sleep from kidney failure at the age of 93.


RIP Chester Nez.

[TAZ]

very sad

[raoh]

Native Americans are p cool. It is a shame they are hardly represented in media here beyond stereotypes and that the reparations they've gotten have been a pittance.

[sjfaerlind]

T'is the same here ... native Canadians are in a real mess.
My hubby spent some time up north working on a reservation for his job some years back. He told me it was like a whole different world. The social problems natives bands are facing are huge.

[Taliesin]

It's the same with our indigenous folks too. I wish it weren't so, but it is. We have a sad history of not treating them very well, and that's a crying shame.