CODE TALKER by Joseph Bruchac ~ Culture 4

CODE TALKER by Joseph Bruchac

Author: Joseph Bruchac

Title:  Code Talker: A Novel About the Navajo Marines of World War Two

Publisher:  Dial Books

Publication Date: 2005

ISBN:  0803729219

Plot Summary

After being taught in a boarding school run by whites that Navajo is a useless language, Ned Begay and other Navajo men are recruited by the Marines to become Code Talkers, sending messages during World War II in their native tongue.

Critical Analysis

Code Talker is a beautiful young adult novel example of the correct way to build awareness of Native American literature. The book emphasizes the Navajo dances and blessings and describes how they are sacred: “I had to go with my parents to a singer who would do a ceremony for me. With the protection of Hózhǭǭjí the Blessingway, I might be kept safe when I went into danger. I was glad to do that. The Blessingway is done for all that is good. That is its only purpose” (p. 50). Also, the book stakes claim to its Navajo heritage while simultaneously portraying a contemporary Native culture: “Finally, in 1969, we were told that we could speak about being code talkers. New computers were more efficient than people in sending and receiving code. Our story was declassified. We formed a Code Talkers Association and began having meetings” (p. 213). Readers of Code Talker can go online to learn more about the association – definitely a representation of contemporary Native American life!

Cultural markers within the text defines Code Talker as a worthy example of Native American literature. Within the first few paragraphs author Bruchac describes the physical attributes and clothing of Navajo people: “There stood my tall, beautiful mother. Her thick black hair was tied up into a bun. She was dressed in her finest clothing – a new, silky blue blouse and a blue pleated skirt decorated with bands of gold ribbons. On her feet were soft calf-high moccasins, and she wore all her silver and turquoise jewelry. Her squash-blossom necklace, her bracelets, her concha belt, her earrings – I knew she had adorned herself with all of these things for me” (p. 5). There were also several references to religious practices through blessings, prayers, dances, and songs. The main character, Ned Begay, often referred to his pouch of pollen and how it helped him: “I stood with nothing over my head but the sky. I faced the east, took a pinch of pollen from my pouch, and placed it on my tongue. I put a little dab of pollen on top of my head and spoke my words to the Holy People. ‘Let me have clear thoughts, clear speech, and a good path to walk this day,’ I prayed as I watched the rising sun” (p. 178).

Of course, a book about the Navajo language includes many Native American cultural markers with the heavy use of dialect and first language. The story is told as if a WWII Navajo Code Talker was telling his WWII story to his grandchildren. The Navajo words are in italic typeface and the main character explains the word’s meaning in English. “Nihimá, ‘Our Mother.’ That is the Navajo word we chose to mean our country, this United States” (p. 2). And: “Dine-ba-whoa-blehi, ‘man trap,’ was our word for a booby trap. Na’ats’ǫǫsi, ‘mouse,’ as I told you already, was the Japanese” (p. 129).

I hope that readers of Code Talker will come to appreciate the Navajo people even more after reading the book. Their knowledge of their native language truly saved many lives during World War II. My grandfather fought in the Pacific Theater during WWII and I’m sure I have a Navajo to thank for his safe return!

Reviews

• Kirkus (2005): “Telling his story to his grandchildren, Ned relates his experiences in school, military training, and across the Pacific, on Guadalcanal, Bougainville, Guam, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa. With its multicultural themes and well-told WWII history, this will appeal to a wide audience.”
• VOYA (2005): “Bruchac's fictional Ned Begay represents all the Navajo Marines who, despite their treatment by white America, fought valiantly in foreign wars. Ned tells his own story in simple, measured prose, as a grandfather's tale to his grandchildren. The author never allows his lovely and poignant novel to become a polemic against the mindless abuse of the mission schools or the horrors of war in the Pacific, but he instead offers a portrait of a brave and generous man who represents any teenager caught in the forces of history.”

Awards

• 2005 Best Children’s Books of the Year
• 2006 Notable Children’s Books
• 2006 YALSA Best Books for Young Adults

Connections

• Use this Teaching Guide from Scholastic: https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/lesson-plans/teaching-content/code-talker-extension-activity/
• Play portions of the audiobook to students so they can hear the Navajo language
• Learn more about author Joseph Bruchac at his website: http://josephbruchac.com/bruchac_biography.html
• Have high school students research biographies on real Code Talkers and prepare a presentation. Information can be found at the National Museum of the American Indian website.
• Learn more about the Code Talkers Association at http://www.lapahie.com/ncta.cfm

 Bibliography

Bruchac, Joseph. Code Talker: A Novel About the Navajo Marines of World War Two. New York, New York: Dial Books, 2005. ISBN 0803729219

Cover, Mount Juliet, Tennessee. Personal photograph by Amy Wilson. October 15, 2017.