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

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Conseillé par :

Bertrand

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.