Navajo code talkers, once unable to even talk about the role they played in World War II, are now lauded as heroes. How much do you know about these brave men? Let's take a closer look at the veterans and their accomplishments and honor their part in WWII:

1. While the Navajo Code Talkers are most famous from World War II, the military used indigenous language as a means for code during World War I. Then, members of the Choctaw nation wrote and transcribed messages to help the war effort after their commanding officers overheard them speaking Choctaw. France bestowed the entire Choctaw Nation the Chevalier de l’Order National du Merite in gratitude for the vital work the men did.

2. The idea of using Navajo as a way to create unbreakable codes against the Axis Powers -- Nazi Germany, Japan, and Italy -- in WWII came from a veteran of WWI. Phillip Johnson, the white son of a Christian missionary, had grown up on a Navajo Reservation and had learned the language in his youth. It is possible that he came across the idea of indigenous languages being used as code during his service in WWI. After Pearl Harbor, he proposed using Navajo, specifically, as a code to the Marines.

3. There were 29 original code talkers. By the end of the war, there were more than 400. Native Americans from at least 14 other nations and tribes were among those 400, working to keep the Axis from breaking encrypted, vitally important information.

4. During the time they served, Native Americans were subject to many racist and unconscionable policies in the United States. Some states actively worked to bar Native Americans from voting by using similar tactics that were used to keep African Americans from the polls. In fact, their right to vote wasn’t secured until the 1965 Voting Rights Act.

5. Code talkers volunteered and were drafted. Some were so excited to participate that they lied about their age, while others did not wish to participate but had no choice. Roughly 25 percent of all Native American men were in the military during WWII; the highest of any group of people during the war.

6. Codes were split into two types: Type One and Type Two. Type One was a code created from Native American language and used for very important messages that could not run the risk of being broken. Type Two was a code that basically was a direct translation from English to Navajo and the back to English.

7. Code talkers were integral to the success of individual battles and campaigns. They were on Utah Beach during D-Day and have been credited with the reason Marines were able to take Iwo Jima.

8. For more than 20 years, code talkers couldn’t speak about or receive recognition for their contributions during WWII. Only in 1968 was the program declassified.

9. Recognition for these brave men has been a long time coming. August 14, 1982 was declared by then-President Ronald Reagan as Navajo Code Talkers’ Day. In 2000, the original 29 code talkers were awarded the Congressional Gold Medals; in 2007, all surviving code talkers from all tribes were awarded the Congressional Gold Medal. Source

"I personally have always believed in personal reparations to give back to the people who have shaped our land"

Lana Del Rey has revealed that she donated an advance payment from her latest book to provide clean water for some of the most vulnerable communities of America’s Navajo Nation.

In an Instagram post, Del Rey revealed how the payment, which she received for the book Violet Bent Backwards Over The Grass, has been donated to the Dig Deep Water project.

“No matter what the results of the election just remember we can each as individuals shine brightly and contribute to our world in our own individual way,” she wrote.

“As I’ve been lucky enough to be given an advance from Simon and Schuster, I’m so grateful to be able to spread that money around to foundations that are in need of our help beginning with foundations connected to the Navajo community.

“We hope the @digdeepwater project will find relief with the $350,000 that we delivered to them last month. I personally have always believed in personal reparations to give back to the people who have shaped our land.

“I look forward to updating you on the rest of the donations that we make throughout the year.”

Her comments accompanied a video which showed how many natives of the American Indian territory are struggling to gain access to clean water.

The generous gesture comes after Del Rey debuted an a-capella cover of ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’, which will feature in a new documentary focusing on the fortunes of Liverpool FC.

She shared a black-and-white video which sees her performing an a-capella rendition of the classic track.
The new effort comes after Del Rey returned with new single ‘Let Me Love You Like A Woman’, the first track to arrive from her upcoming album ‘Chemtrails Over The Country Club’.
Source

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No matter what the results of the election just remember we can each as individuals shine brightly and contribute to our world in our own individual way. As I’ve been lucky enough to be given an advance from Simon and Schuster, I’m so grateful to be able to spread that money around to foundations that are in need of our help beginning with foundations connected to the Navajo community. We hope the @digdeepwater project will find relief with the $350,000 that we delivered to them last month. I personally have always believed in personal reparations to give back to the people who have shaped our land. I look forward to updating you on the rest of the donations that we make throughout the year.

A post shared by Lana Del Rey (@lanadelrey) on Nov 3, 2020 at 8:32pm PST

As COVID-19 cases on the Navajo Nation reach 1,127 with 44 deaths, the Navajo & Hopi Families COVID-19 Relief Fund is building momentum to address a food and water crisis in the area with support from actor Jason Momoa.

A massive truck carrying 28 pallets with 1,540 cases of water was sent by Momoa to Tó naneesdizí (Tuba City) on Tuesday.

A group of volunteers led by Lt. Robbin Preston, Tuba City Distribution Team Leader for the Navajo & Hopi Families COVID-19 Relief Effort, unloaded the donation and prepared it for immediate distribution throughout the crisis-stricken area. "Water is life and shapes lives and the earth; it’s the power we draw life from," said Lt. Preston.

Momoa, who is Native Hawaiian, heard about the Relief Fund through an article and offered a large donation of water through his company, Mananalu Pure Water, which is an effort to end single-use plastic drinking bottles and their devastating impacts on the environment. According to the company’s website Mananalu means “a powerful wave of the sacred spirit of life.”

Can’d Aid, a Colorado based non-profit, shipped 48,000 cans of water for relief efforts last week.

“Access to clean water is a necessity while our communities are urged to shelter in place.” said Ethel Branch, Relief Fund Founder and Arizona Co-Lead. “We are extremely grateful for all of the amazing support in our efforts to ensure families have enough food and water to sustain themselves through this crisis. Whether it’s one truckload brought by a community member or these incredible donations from Jason Momoa’s Mananalu Pure Water company and Can’d Aid, every contribution is extremely important and amplifies our goal of working together to help our precious elders and those most vulnerable in this time of crisis.”


With more than 30 percent of the 180,000 residents on the Navajo reservation having little to no access to running water or electricity, and 3 of the 12 Hopi Villages largely without running water or electricity, the COVID-19 pandemic has intensified a decades-long infrastructure crisis. One-third of Navajo and Hopi families in this area must travel miles to haul water, while only 16 grocery stores and small food markets serve the entire area.

"Access to water is a human right that has been denied our people for far too long,” said Janene Yazzie, New Mexico Lead. “Now we are dealing with the repercussions of that and it’s costing the lives of our precious loved ones. As we grapple with this epidemic we will not lose sight of the need to have this basic human right fulfilled and our responsibility to protect our sacred waters for food sovereignty and water security for future generations."


In addition to limited access to water resources, the region is plagued with 523 abandoned uranium mine claims on or near the Navajo Nation, including 609 mine sites and 1,265 mine features, such as waste piles and mine openings. These mines and related sites have contributed to severe rates of cancer and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has identified 22 wells on Navajo Nation as exceeding safe drinking water standards due to high levels of radioactive contamination. Some Hopi Villages have drinking water that is three times the legal limit for arsenic. For more than forty years Navajo and Hopi springs and wells on Black Mesa were impacted by coal mining operations. Today many of these springs and wells have dried up. Some 1.2 billion gallons of clean drinking water a year were pumped from the precious N-Aquifer and used for mining operations. Even with the mine shutdown, families in the region continue to face water scarcity. Additionally, the Navajo Nation is also still recovering from the 2015 Gold King Mine spill where EPA contractors released more than 3 million gallons of mine waste into waterways that Diné families rely upon to practice traditional lifeways by irrigating their fields and watering their livestock.


The Navajo Nation is expected to become one of the top three hot spots in the country per-capita for COVID-19 cases. The Navajo Nation is about the size of the state of West Virginia, yet while West Virginia has a population of 1.8 million, the Navajo Nation has 1/10th its population and has 200 more COVID-19 cases. Huffington Post reports that the number of COVID-19 cases on the Nation “surged 367% in two weeks.”

“In many homes on the reservation, there are multi-generational families that live there. The virus is attacking this important family unit by spreading among entire families who cannot isolate from each other,” said Jessica Stago, Water Coordinator for the Relief Effort. “Providing food and water for these families is essential to an effective strategy to stop this pandemic in our communities.”

With these water donations, the Navajo & Hopi Families COVID-19 Relief Effort will be able to include water in their food baskets, which already provide enough food to last receiving households two weeks. So far the effort has served over 1500 families in almost 40 communities on the Navajo Nation and in 4 of the 12 Villages on Hopi. Through collaboration with their fiscal sponsor, the Rural Utah Project, and Bluff Area Mutual Aid volunteers, the Relief Effort has been able to serve an additional 342 families (1,450 people) in Utah communities. The Relief Effort now has full access to its over $700,000 in GoFundMe dollars, which has enabled it to deliver almost $100,000 in food, cleaning, and PPE supplies to locations all throughout the Navajo Nation this week. This week they also sent a pallet of water donated by Home Depot in Flagstaff to Hard Rock, one of the new COVID-19 hotspots, for distribution to families that live in remote areas with no running water.

“With our sacred waterways polluted and our wells contaminated by uranium or drained by coal mining, we have had our immune systems continuously attacked through degradation and poisoning of our Mother Earth,” said Kim Smith, Northern Agency Lead. “But just as our bodies have natural defenses to fight diseases, we have been fighting here in ceremony and prayer to ensure our ways of life are protected for coming generations. Right now, staying home, social distancing, wearing masks, washing our hands, and safely and responsibly contributing to relief work is our way to keep walking in beauty.”

SOURCE:  FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 18, 2020 Cassandra Begay www.navajohopisolidarity.org 

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SUPER STOKED AND PROUD TO DELIVER @mananalu.water Last week we sent a full truckload (20,000 cans) of Mananalu water to the Navajo Nation. My water company is still small but I’m doing what I can to help those that need it the most MAHALO NUI @theellenshow for helping us spread the aloha Thanks to the Navajo and Hopi Families COVID-19 Relief campaign (@navajohopicovid19relief) for helping us distribute our water to the families. This is a grassroots effort led by a group of Navajo women who work 14 hours a day with no pay in order to raise funds and support for Navajo families in need during this terrible pandemic. That’s amazing. • Native American tribes are among the highest risk communities during the corona virus pandemic, and a lot of them haven’t gotten the resources they need to fight the virus. This includes medical equipment and basic goods like food and clean water • About 40% of the residents live in rural areas and have little to no access to running water • They’re literally living in a “food desert” with very few grocery stores and the land is very spread out. Many families have to travel several miles just to haul water. FILM COMING SOON BY @deidrapeaches on our youtube channel. #mananalu.water #navajonation. ALOHA J

A post shared by Jason Momoa (@prideofgypsies) on Apr 19, 2020 at 4:58pm PDT

“My ancestors fought and died on these lands. I just told them, ‘Don’t ask me that question,’” said the Navajo lawmaker.

It seems like President Donald Trump’s supporters breathe, eat and sleep racism. They don’t have any idea of what a diverse world looks like and make a point of troubling anyone who isn’t white.

Just recently, a group of Trump supporters protested against immigration at the Arizona Capitol and to make their point, they used the most cringe-worthy tactics. They reportedly used racist language against non-white or dark-skinned people, some of who were there to ask the Arizona Legislature to support immigration reforms.

The protesters were reportedly armed. They waved large flags in support of the commander-in-chief, standing between the state House and Senate buildings, as they asked everyone who crossed their path if they “support illegal immigration.”

‘Get out of the country!’: Navajo lawmaker harassed by Arizona Trump supporters accusing him of being here ‘illegally’ 

They also called some dark-skinned people “illegal” and told them to “go home.”


One of the people targeted by the racist supporters is a Navajo lawmaker, Rep. Eric Descheenie (D-Chinle).

The lawmaker was asked if he was living in the United States “illegally.”

Descheenie was trying to help a young student who was being harassed by the Trump supporters when he got targeted himself.

“I’m indigenous to these lands,” said Descheenie. “My ancestors fought and died on these lands. I just told them, ‘Don’t ask me that question.’”


Policy advisors for state Senate Democrats, Lisette Flores and Selianna Robles, were also yelled at as they were passing die-heart Trump supporters to get lunch at a farmers market.

Seeing this situation, three white coworkers offered to escort Flores, Robles and Democratic staffer Dora Ramirez back to their offices, Robles said.


“We’re walking back, and they start yelling again, ‘Get out of the country.’ At that point, they pointed to Lisette, called her an illegal, and said, ‘Get out, go back home!’” Robles said. “But they pointed at Jane (Ahern), who works for the House, and they said, ‘No, you can stay.’”
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Trump supporters continue to question if Arizona State Rep. Eric Descheenie, a Navajo American legislator, is here ‘illegally’. Let that level of stupid sink in for a moment. pic.twitter.com/C2kxKenqz1

— James F. Haning II (@jameshaning) August 27, 2018

A team of Navajo high school students will travel to Mexico City next week to represent North America in an international robotics competition, The Associated Press reported Tuesday.

The group from southern Utah was specially invited to the First Global Challenge, which starts on Aug. 14. Teams from more than 190 countries will attend the competition, which this year will focus on energy sources.

The Navajo team has competed in robotics for the last two years, and is among the best in the state despite only 30 students total attending the high school. The students began working on their robot for the upcoming competition in June.

“The kids are really patient. They’re used to jumping through a lot of different hoops,” teacher Heather Anderson told the AP.

“That’s what’s really special about this team; they’re really proud of their work," she added.

Separate teams will represent the United States, Canada and Mexico, specifically, the AP reported.


In Mexico City, each team will be charged with building a robot that has to work with other countries to accomplish an objective, the AP reported. Since many teams will face a language barrier, the students will need to collaborate using hand gestures and other methods.

The First Global Challenge, which is in its second year, aims to encourage kids around the world to take an interest in science and technology.

“Were it not for the Navajos, the Marines would have never taken Iwo Jima,” Marine Maj. Howard Connor once said of a famous and pivotal battle. He served as a signal officer for the Marines’ Code Talker unit during the Iwo Jima campaign.

 The Navajo Code Talkers were not so much the silent warriors of World War II as they were the indecipherable heroes of the Japanese theater of combat.

The Code Talkers, many of whom were from New Mexico, used their native language to confound the Japanese in planning battles, calling for reinforcements and transmitting requests for food, ammunition or medicine.

Many military historians credit them with helping to win the war.

Now one of few Code Talkers still living, state Sen. John Pinto, D-Gallup, wants to honor their legacy with a museum.

On Tuesday, he moved one small step closer to that goal after the Senate Indian and Cultural Affairs Committee unanimously voted for a bill asking the Legislature to allocate $1 million to build a Navajo Code Talkers museum and veterans center in New Mexico, near the Arizona border.


Pinto, sponsor of the bill, presented it by facing an assembly of some 25 people, many of them Native Americans. Then the senator, who estimates he is 93 years old (birthdates on the Navajo Nation often were imprecise), recounted with quiet emotion the contribution Navajos made to winning the war.

His head bowed, his hands clasped together as in prayer, Pinto spoke of the Japanese aerial attack on Pearl Harbor that led to America’s entry into the war, and of the 2,335 U.S. servicemen killed in that attack.

“I hope it never happens again,” he said.

He then recounted how Navajos were recruited to join the Marines as a special unit of Code Talkers who would use their native language to confuse the enemy’s cryptography experts.


The Navajo Diné language, which few non-Navajos understood, was unwritten. Code strategists devised a 200-plus word code from it.

Many Code Talkers, who also took part in combat missions, died overseas and are buried far from their native land, Pinto said.

Still, building a museum in honor of Code Talkers would not be easy.

The Legislative Finance Committee’s fiscal analysis of the bill says the Indian Affairs Department has concerns about the costs for design and construction, which could in turn limit money for operations and programming. The Indian Affairs Department said other funding “would be necessary for the continued operation of the project.”

But the $1 million that New Mexico would invest in the planned museum is just one source of funding, said Mark Freeland, a spokesman for the Navajo Nation. He said the nonprofit Navajo Code Talkers Foundation is also raising money for the project.


The 140-acre property designated for the museum was donated to the Navajo Code Talkers Foundation by the Chevron Mining company, Freeland told the committee.

Many who attended the hearing spoke in favor of Pinto’s proposal.

Carmen Moffett of Gallup told the committee that her father, Newton Moffett, served with the Army during World War II. She said opening the museum “would be a historic moment.”

“I would like, in my lifetime, to see something like this happen,” she said. “If not, then in the lifetime of my son.”


Her son, Del Norte Elementary School fifth-grader Hunter Whitehair of Gallup, said the museum could be an important destination for school field trips so children “can learn about our culture and not forget about our contributions to the war.”


Some senators on the committee asked Pinto and Freeman if the museum would include information on Code Talkers from other tribes and nations, including Comanches. Freeman said that is a possibility. The bill next goes to the Senate Finance Committee.
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A Navajo National Fire Department firefighter is winning the hearts and respect of people on social media after finishing the Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon Arizona in full turnout gear this past weekend.

 Jeremy Curley, 31, took on the herculean effort of running with more than 60 pounds of gear to help raise money for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

Sunday's run in the Valley wasn't his first time. Curley, who has been a firefighter for eight years, said he's run several half-marathons and a full marathon in his gear.

He did his first run in gear in 2016 to memorialize a little girl who was murdered.

"They announced for everyone to wear yellow for her favorite color," he wrote in an email interview with azcentral. "So the night before I decided to wear my gear since my helmet was yellow."

His previous two half-marathons have been to help St. Jude, he said. He spent Sunday cheering supporting people who took part in the run.


"It takes away the pain that I get in my feet and knees," he wrote.

St. Jude posted on their Facebook page that the group Curley was part of raised $122,000 at the marathon. Curley's page shows he was able to reach $425 toward his goal of $500. Curley said people will be able to donate for the next couple of weeks.

Reaction to a photo of Curley running in all that gear drew praise for his efforts.
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It's no secret that the Navajo code talkers played a significant role in the Allied powers' victory in World War II, said Kody Dayish, a Navajo storyteller of Shiprock.

Navajo servicemen's complex native tongue was critical in communicating crucial Allied messages that could not be deciphered by Japanese foes, The Daily Times reported earlier this month.

Their story has been told before in films, but it's never been told from a Navajo point of view, Dayish said

Dayish has wanted to tell his own version of the code talkers' story for some time, but wanted to wait until he felt he had the skills and maturity as a filmmaker to tell it properly. "We wouldn't want to disrespect the code talkers by making a film that's (unworthy)," he said.

After producing a number of award-winning short films and features, Dayish feels his family's film production company, Kody Dayish Production, is ready to take on the task.

With the help of his brother Kolin and sister Kolette, Dayish plans to make his movie "Unbroken Code" focus on two Navajo youths who leave their home behind to join the Marine Corps. It will explore their conflict over leaving their families behind, the sacrifices they make on behalf of a country that has relegated them to a reservation, and most importantly, the depth of their contribution to the war effort.


The film will be shot entirely on the Navajo Nation and will feature mostly Navajo actors. The siblings have already completed the script and are looking for actors who are fluent in the Dine language since the most of the dialogue will be presented in that tongue. With very few surviving code talkers left, Dayish believes it's the perfect time for the project.


"Now is the time to get a little deeper to see where the Navajo code talkers came from," he said. They plan to begin shooting the film in 2018.
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Even though it’ll be in full view over the Navajo Nation in Arizona, traditional tribal members won’t look up while it’s happening.

The Navajo word for eclipse is “eating the sun.” In the Navajo tradition it is believed that the "sun dies" during a solar eclipse and that it is an intimate event between the Earth, Sun and Moon.

People are told to stay inside and keep still during the dark period. There’s no eating, drinking, sleeping, weaving or any other activity.

For Angelenos who do want to see it, the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles and Caltech in Pasadena will host viewings of the solar eclipse on Sunday afternoon.

“The moon and the sun are sacred the way they were created, and you are not supposed to watch the moon or look at, stare at it for a long time," "It affects your mind and your body. Especially for a woman that’s carrying a baby. Because when there is an eclipse either lunar or solar, this is a sacred time where the sun, the moon and the earth is kind of like in an intimate position when they line up, so it’s such a sacred thing that’s happening, you don’t look at those things that are happening out in the sky.”

If a pregnant woman sees an eclipse of any kind, be it solar or lunar, it might "affect the mind of the woman or also in the future it will affect the health of the baby,” Begay said, and a special ceremony must be conducted to rid them of the influence.

During an eclipse, "every man, woman and child—they have to show reverence, and they don’t eat, they don’t drink water, they just go into the house until it passes," Begay said. “And then they show respect for the moon and the sun.”

Known as the Navajo Horse Whisperer, Begaye rejects modern training strategies that rely on dominance and force, choosing instead to return to traditional practices.

 A lifelong horseman, he learned his gentle ways from his mother, Glenabah Begaye, who herded sheep from horseback.

As a toddler, Begaye sat behind his mother as they rode through Steamboat Canyon, a V-shaped crevice near their home on the Navajo Nation. As they traveled, Glenabah sang softly in Navajo.

“I remember putting my arms around her waist with my ear pressed against her back,” Begaye said. “I could hear her songs, but more than that, I could feel them. It was so lovely.”

Half a century later, Begaye captures the same tenderness as he sings to his horses, coaxing them with traditional Navajo songs. Horses respond to the ancient, soothing sounds and quickly calm down.

“Singing is always the way we did this,” Begaye said. “The songs I sing are the same ones used 200 years ago. Horses are just like babies; they calm down and follow you when you sing.”


“My horse was jumping around and acting crazy,” Lightfoot said. “Then Jay sang to her and she just basically followed him around for the rest of the session. He sings to them and they listen. It’s like he’s speaking their language, a language I didn’t know existed.”
Source

"We need to take the kids off of the streets," she said, "and they need to be in a place where they congregate and have fun.

She had walked for years raising money for the youth of Chinle. Her 80-mile trek between Chinle and Window Rock was a common sight in September during the Navajo Nation Fair.

Children and their parents walked with her carrying buckets and signs asking for d onations to her cause, which was to build a youth complex in Chinle.

Her goal at the time was to raise $25 million. In the end, she raised more than $100,000, which now sits unused in a bank account.

The last time Thomas walked was in 2010. Her biggest supporter, her husband of 50 years, Leo Thomas, passed on in 2008. Her son Leon spoke on behalf of Marjorie (her first name), telling about her childhood and what she has been doing since she stopped walking.

“My mom grew up in Chinle and went to boarding school, which she did not like,” Leon said. “One of her experiences was she went to Gallup for the first time during a school trip. They went to eat in a restaurant and they wouldn’t serve the Navajo children. She remembers crying.”


His mother recalled walking to the top of a hill where her teachers brought sandwiches, chips and sodas for her and her classmates.

Afterward, they went to El Morro Theater to watch a Shirley Temple movie. Excited, Marjorie rushed down the aisle to find a seat only to be stopped by a Caucasian man, who told her that her place was on the balcony, where the non-whites sat, on wooden benches.


Bothered by the experience, she could not enjoy the movie. When she got home, she asked her grandmother why they were treated badly.

“‘Well, these people don’t understand the word love,’” she recalled.
 Source

The competition draws dozens of teams from all over the Western U.S. and British Columbia - the University of Utah's School of Engineering's regional robotics competition.

But this year's event featured a team that beat the odds just to be there — a team that some have likened to the Jamaican bobsled team at the Olympics.

Students from Navajo Mountain High School, believed to be the most remote school in the continental U.S., fielded a team comprised of nearly half of their student body — just 32. Many of them don't have electricity or even running water in their homes, but in this endeavor found themselves creating what could be the technology of the future.

"Don't be afraid!" Adviser Daniel Conrad coached his team as they competed in multiple rounds in what's called a "First Robotics Competition". It was a first for this school.

"They're proof that you don't need all this fancy stuff to make things happen - you just have to be determined and motivated - and they have that."

"It gives me something new to learn," senior Fredale Burns told 2News he believes his elders and others in the community are proud of what they're doing.


"I also hope it inspires others in our community to think about the possibility of a career in robotics or engineering."

He is the driver for his team's robot when it goes up against others performing various tasks as a part of this competition.

"For me, it's not really that hard. It all wouldn't be possible without our programmer. She is the one that helps me, to map out the buttons and what to do on the controller."

His programmer, he says, lives far away from the school and makes the journey to and from everyday to be a part of this. Fredale says while they've learned about how to create and program and control a robot, there are also other important life lessons learned.


"Teamwork and sportsmanship and helping each other, being cooperative."

Mr. Conrad, as he's called, is new to this sort of thing and was challenged last year by a school from Australia.

"They were trying to engage schools in rural Australia when it came to robotics and after being challenged by a university in Sydney, they essentially then came to America's Outback and found us - a very rural school with limited resources - and we decided to jump right in."

He and his team have been mentored by other more seasoned teams in the competition like James Harris from Waterford school in Sandy, which was in neighboring booth to Navajo Mountain this weekend.


"They don't look at where they grow up as a disadvantage. They don't look at it as adversity," Mr. Conrad told 2News, "These are talented, smart, capable kids who you give them something to make with their hands and they'll make miracles happen. And that's just what they did."

Navajo Mountain High placed 35 out of 48 schools, which Mr. Conrad said was really exceptional for a rookie team. They were also given "Most Inspirational" honors and accepted the award to the applause of their peers.

The team was invited to compete in a competition in Idaho, but say they will have to try and raise funding first.

They plan to come back next year and the year after that and hope to take their robot made from scrap metal and borrowed parts to others in the reservation, Mr. Conrad says to inspire them to dream bigger.
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Joe Hosteen Kellwood, a Navajo Code Talker from World War II, passe away Monday in Phoenix at the age of 95.

 Gov. Doug Ducey asked Arizonans on Tuesday to remember Kellwood’s service to America.

“Kellwood served with distinction in the 1st Marine Division as a Navajo code talker, ultimately helping lead the Allied forces to victory in WWII," Ducey said in a written statement. "Today, as Arizonans celebrate the life of this amazing man, let us pray for his family, his friends, and the Navajo Nation. And let us never forget the countless contributions that code talkers have made to our state and our country.”

A spokesman for the Navajo Nation confirmed Kellwood's passing Monday.

In Navajo and in English, people sent condolences over social media to Kellwood's family. Ahe'hee, Mr. Joe Kellwood. Thank you, Marine.

Rest in Peace, Brave Warrior. Thank you for your service. My condolences to the family and to the Navajo Nation.


Oh Ya'at'ééh dóó'. So Sad and Sorry...Your Uncle is now made his journey to be with family in a world different with the Holy People as he is now.


"I was never scared during battles because I told Mama Water to take care of me," Kellwood said in the 1999 Republic interview. "We had to feel like we were bigger than the enemy in battle. I had my prayer and my chewing gum."
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Last Thursday, the Naabik’íyáti’ Committee unanimously approved legislation urging the U.S. Congress to appropriate funds to construct a Navajo Code Talkers national monument in Washington, D.C. to recognize their military service during World War II.

 Council Delegate Edmund Yazzie (Churchrock, Iyanbito, Mariano Lake, Pinedale, Smith Lake, Thoreau), who sponsored the legislation, stated that the Navajo Code Talkers should be honored and recognized in a significant manner at the national level.

“The Code Talkers have done a tremendous duty for the United States and they deserve to be honored and recognized at the national level. Their families and community members deserve to see a national monument dedicated to the Code Talkers when they visit the United States Capitol. Also, people from around the world need to know about our great Navajo warriors,” stated Delegate Yazzie.

In April 1942, the U.S. Marine Corps recruited 29 Navajo men between the ages of 17 to 32 as Radio Operators, who were later known as Navajo Code Talkers. The Code Talkers used the Navajo language to communicate military messages when they served in combat in the Pacific. During the war, the U.S. Marine Corps recruited a total of 350 Navajo Code Talkers.

Military commanders credited the Navajo code in saving the lives of countless American soldiers in the battles of Gaudalcanal, Tarawa, Saipan, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa. After World War II, the Navajo code remained a secret for 23 years until in 1968 when the U.S. Department of Defense declassified the Navajo code.


In April 2000, the U.S. Congress passed the Honoring the Navajo Code Talkers Act, which authorized the U.S. President to present gold medals on behalf of Congress to the original 29 Navajo Code Talkers in recognition of their contributions to the U.S.

During last Thursday’s discussion, Naabik’íyáti’ Committee approved an amendment to add all 350 Navajo Code Talkers’ names to the proposed national monument.


“All Navajo Code Talkers will be honored and recognized. We have the freedom and privilege because of them. They have used our Navajo language to protect our land and families,” added Delegate Yazzie.

The Naabik’íyáti’ Committee approved Legislation No. 0173-16 with a 10-0 vote. Naabik’íyáti’ Committee serves as the final authority for the bill. The resolution will be sent to members of the U.S. Congress along with a supportive letter on behalf of the Navajo Nation.
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At the age of 102, Sophie Yazzie continues to do things she feels are important, which is why she was in Sacaton, Ariz. over the weekend helping to commemorate the raising of the flag over Iwo Jima during World War II.

 It was Ira Hayes Day on the Gila River Indian Community but Yazzie made an impression to many in attendance by her participation as the oldest living veteran of World War II to attend the event.

World War II veteran Sgt. Sophie Yazzie, who is now 102, is showed here in 1945 in uniform.

She also had that same honor the year before when she attended the event.

A member of the Woman’s Army Air Force Corp, Yazzie has shown over the past several decades that the two things she most cares about – her family and her pride in being a veteran – are something that she will go out of her way to celebrate.

When she had her 100th birthday, it was celebrated at the Wheatfields Chapter House to accommodate her four children, five grandchildren and six great-grandchildren as well as the more than 140 friends and community members who wanted to be on hand to celebrate this occasion.


“She’s still active,” said her daughter Kathleen Lampert, adding that although she has to use a walker to get around.

Her mind is still sharp and when she was interviewed by phone Tuesday night, she remembered minute details of her life on the reservation, in boarding school and in the service.
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