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October 15, 2004 |
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We've just re-launched the Explore Navajo newsletter! If you'd prefer not to receive this newsletter, please click here to remove your name from our mailing list. Code Talkers' Museum Dedicated In this month's issue, we're focused on Tuba City, recently announced as the future home of the Tuba City Navajo Code Talker Museum. The new museum is dedicated to code talkers who served in the second World War. The museum will be located on site at the Quality Inn Navajo Nation and the Tuba City Trading Post. Local families wishing to donate or display memorabilia for viewing by children, grand children, great grand children, visitors and many others will be contacted and are encouraged to contact the general manager at the Quality Inn, Kristine Begay-Jantzi at 928-283-4545. Specific location, opening date, size and hours of operation are yet to be determined.
During World War II, at a time when the Japanese possessed the ability to break almost any American military code, the Navajo stepped forward and developed the most significant and successful military code of the time. Philip Johnston, knowledgeable in the use of Native American languages during the first world war, knew of the military's search for a code that would withstand all attempts to decipher it. He was also the son of a missionary, raised on the Navajo reservation, spoke fluent Navajo, and believed Navajo answered the military requirement for an undecipherable code as it was an unwritten language of extreme complexity. After an impressive demonstration, the Marine Corps called upon the Navajo Nation to support the military effort by recruiting and enlisting Navajo men to serve as Marine Corps Radio Operators. The "first twenty-nine," as they are
sometimes referred to, are the first twenty-nine enlistees credited with
the development of the original code, consisting of approximately 200
terms. It was designed to be short and concise and used or combined
standard native words to create new terms for military hardware. But
what proved to be most inventive, and confusing to the enemy, was the
incorporation of an innovative alphabet to cover unforseen
contingencies. Using this method, the Navajo Code Talker could use
distinctly different words for the exact same message, making the code
extremely complex, but at the same time improving the speed of vital
military communications. Due to its very flexibility, development of
the code continued under subsequent Navajo Code Talkers, growing to over
600 terms. By the end of the war the Navajo code, and the very
technique by which it was developed, became the most innovative,
successful, and closely guarded military secret code of its time.
Spotlight on Tuba City: rich with scenery and history  Tuba City is a spot rich with history and natural beauty, a tremendous family vacation destination! A Hopi leader named Tuve was the man for which Tuba City was named. Hopi, Navajo and Paiute Indians came to the area because of its natural springs. Mormons also came and laid out a town, using blocks of stone from nearby prehistoric sites. Some of these dwellings can still be seen today. Located near the Grand Canyon and the Painted Desert in the Hopi and Navajo Indian Reservaton, Tuba City forms a convenient hub for your cultural and scenery tour. With so much to see - create your own tour around Tuba City, or make it easy, and select a pre-planned itinerary. Dinosaur Tracks Coal Mine Canyon Elephant Feet Grand Canyon Cultural Protocol: Photography Please be respectful when it comes to photography. Cameras are welcome only in certain areas of the Navajo Nation. Please secure permission before photographing, videotaping, sketching, or audiotape recording any event.
Find more information about cultural protocol online, at ExploreNavajo.com. WESTERN NAVAJO FAIR Located in Tuba City, Arizona from 10/16/04-10/19/04. Make your reservations today at the Quality Inn Navajo Nation! NAVAJO CODE TALKER MUSEUM DEDICATION CEREMONY In honor of those who served, the Quality Inn Navajo Nation in Tuba City, Arizona is pleased to announce the dedication of the future Tuba City Navajo Code Talker Museum. The museum will be located on site at the Quality Inn Navajo Nation and the Tuba City Trading Post. The Quality Inn would like to invite the Navajo community to a special dedication ceremony, which will take place after the Western Regional Fair Parade on October 16, 2004 at 1:00 p.m. in the Tuba City Trading Post. Code Talkers will be presented with certificates of appreciation for service during the dedication. NAVAJO CODE TALKER BOOK SIGNING AT THE TUBA CITY TRADING POST The Tuba City Trading Post invites you to meet the Honorable Navajo Code Talkers during a special book signing. The book signing will take place on 10/16/04 following the Navajo Code Talker Museum dedication ceremony. If you have not had the chance to purchase a Navajo Code Talker book you can pick up your copy at the Tuba City Trading Post. ANNUAL HALLOWEEN CARNIVAL Bodaway/Gap Chapter, AZ. Bingo, cakewalk, costume contest, face painting, dime toss, disco, basketball shoot, raffle, bake sale, ring toss, Navajo food and many more. NAVAJO RUG AUCTION Crownpoint Elementary, Crownpoint, NM. Viewing 4:30-6:30pm. Auction @ 7:00pm. 7TH ANNUAL NAVAJO NATION MUSEUM KESHMISH FESTIVAL Window Rock, AZ. This event highlights emerging and established artists for fine design and quality workmanship in jewelry, weaving, clothing, pottery, paintings, carvings, sculpture, and other art forms. The festival includes cultural events and entertainment. NAVAJO RUG AUCTION Crownpoint Elementary, Crownpoint, NM. Viewing 4:30-6:30pm. Auction @ 7:00pm SCENIC PHOTOGRAPHY TOUR Do you want to photograph Monument Valley? Now you can enjoy and explore this photographer's paradise for yourself. Our Navajo guides are born and raised in Monument Valley... and who else is better qualified and knows the best places and camera angels than someone who lived there all his life? Contact Harold Simpson with Trailhandler Tours to set up a date and time for your Scenic Photography Tour! | ||||||||
| Navajo Nation Hospitality Enterprise, c/o Monument Hospitality, Inc. | |||||||||
Loy Coin
Dinosaur Tracks, just west of Navajo Nation, is one of the most fun spots to visit in Navajoland. Not just because of the spectacle of seeing perfectly preserved footprints left clearly in the sandstone by a prehistoric creature some 200 million years ago, but also because of the colorful and engaging Navajos who sell arts and crafts (and sodas and snacks) just a few feet from the jurassic tracks. 
Coal Mine Canyon, just southeast of Navajo Nation, is a striking combination of red mudstone, bleached white rock and coal streaks. There are picnic tables on the rim of the canyon, and the play of sunlight off the different colors of rock make for picturesque photography. For more info, call 928-871-6647. 
Plenty of vehicles stop on the side of the road near the pair of lonely sandstone towers jutting out from the flatlands east of Navajo Nation. To everyone who sees these formations, they look exactly like their name: Elephant Feet. There is no visitor center, but that's part of the beauty of these pachyderm formations — you can walk right up and touch the "toes" of these rocks. (Photo hint: give the camera to a friend, stand between the "feet," and tell your friend to frame the shot so that it cuts off the top of the rock formations. This way it looks like you really are at the feet of a giant elephant!) 
Visit and explore one of nature’s greatest wonders! The Grand Canyon is more than one mile deep and between four and eighteen miles wide. Within the Canyon, the Colorado River drops 2,215 feet while being channeled into ever-narrower paths. With more than a dozen geologic layers visible at the Grand Canyon, you are sure to be amazed. Grand Canyon National Park is a World Heritage Site.