The Code Talkers had not been nationally recognized until 1969, when the 4th Marine Division Association held its reunion in Chicago. At that time a group of Code Talkers was invited to the reunion and presented with a medallion specially minted in commemoration of their services. In 1971 President Nixon presented them with a certificate of appreciation on behalf of the nation. He thanked them for their patriotism, resourcefulness, and courage. August 14, 1982 was declared National Code Talkers Day by President Reagan, who issued a proclamation of tribute to all members of the Navajo Nation who gave their special talents and their lives so that others might live.
Dan Rather interviewed the oldest Code Talker, Carl Gorman, at his home in 1997, and after the interview said the American way of life might not have survived if it were not for their service. Ninety-year-old Gorman's closing statement reflected the true heart of a Marine when he said, "Old Marines never die. They just go to hell and regroup."
The Navajos today:
Edward S. Curtis was a photographer whose pictures of Native Americans are in museums and private collections across the country. One of the most famous of these, "The Vanishing Race," was taken in 1904 and is supposed to show the Indians passing into the darkness of an unknown future, stripped of their tribal strength and culture.
The Navajos did not vanish into the darkness, however. Today they are the largest Native American tribe in the United States with a population of over 200,000, and their rich culture is alive and well. They lived through the Spaniards, the Mexicans, the Utes, white settlers, slave traders, the U.S. Army, Kit Carson, GeneralCarleton, the Long Walk, Bosque Redondo, livestock reduction, and boarding school. Many native nations have disappeared, swallowed up into the Anglo world. The Dineh, however, remain distinctly themselves. They have survived.
From the Night Chant
In Beauty (happily) I walk.
With Beauty before me I walk.
With Beauty behind me I walk.
With Beauty above me I walk.
With Beauty all around me I walk.
It is finished in Beauty.
Showing posts with label Return from Bosque Redondo.. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Return from Bosque Redondo.. Show all posts
Saturday, October 13, 2012
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Unbreakable Code: Indian School
At the end of the bitter four-year confinement at Bosque Redondo the survivors of the Long Walk returned to their belolved homeland between the four sacred mountains. One of the stipulations of the Treaty of 1868 that allowed them to return was that all of their children between the ages of six and sixteen were to attend school. The government was supposed to provide the classrooms and a competent teacher for every thirty students. Since the roads were so bad and the winters so severe the children remained at boarding schools for months at a time, away from their families. In addition, it was the policy of the federal schools to expedite "acculturation" as speedily as possible. They were forbidden to speak Navajo while there. Punishment for this ranged from beatings with a strap to boys being dressed in girls clothing to having one's mouth washed out with strong soap.
The children were reminded constantly that they had to learn to dress, to speak, and to think like white people. They were to forget their Navajo upbringing and their Navajo way of life, which they had been taught was beautiful and good and given to them by their own Holy People. They were to forget all this in order to become like the Anglos and to pray to their deity. However, their parents and grandparents would not let them forget that the white man had been their enemy. He had subjected them to life on a reservation, had been responsible for the terrors of the Long Walk, deprived them of their land and freedom, and the right to many of their ancient ceremonies and religious rites. But more importantly, he still considered them savages and heathens.
As one can see from the preceding events, the Navajos had little cause to get involved in the "white man's war." However, they saw the attack on Pearl Harbor as an attack on the Navajo Nation as well as on the forty-eight states. They felt that the beauty of their Reservation and its holy ground must be defended. Although this may seem inconsistent with the treatment they received at the hands of Kit Carson and General Carleton, it is not inconsistent with the Navajo's love of their land.
Next: The war begins.
The children were reminded constantly that they had to learn to dress, to speak, and to think like white people. They were to forget their Navajo upbringing and their Navajo way of life, which they had been taught was beautiful and good and given to them by their own Holy People. They were to forget all this in order to become like the Anglos and to pray to their deity. However, their parents and grandparents would not let them forget that the white man had been their enemy. He had subjected them to life on a reservation, had been responsible for the terrors of the Long Walk, deprived them of their land and freedom, and the right to many of their ancient ceremonies and religious rites. But more importantly, he still considered them savages and heathens.
As one can see from the preceding events, the Navajos had little cause to get involved in the "white man's war." However, they saw the attack on Pearl Harbor as an attack on the Navajo Nation as well as on the forty-eight states. They felt that the beauty of their Reservation and its holy ground must be defended. Although this may seem inconsistent with the treatment they received at the hands of Kit Carson and General Carleton, it is not inconsistent with the Navajo's love of their land.
Next: The war begins.
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