I just finished reading, Code Talkers, written by Chester Nez and Judith Schiess Avila. It is a beautifully written biography of Chester Nez, one of thirty-two Navajo code talkers, who helped win battles in the Pacific area during WWII. Mr. Nez also shared his younger years when he was taken away from his parents to be educated in the government’s school program for assimilation of Native Americans into the American culture by eliminating their cultures and languages. The government was not successful in destroying Native American cultures and languages because they are still thriving in various events throughout our nation. In fact, it was the Navajo language that helped win battles in the Pacific by using a communication code that the Japanese could not break; it did not use the English language. Messages could be communicated in two hours, instead of four to five days. Thousands of lives were saved by these well-trained and very intuitive code masters.
There are two Navajo concepts that interested me in the book. In the first concept, each day, Navajo Indians do a corn pollen tribute to the four directions of the earth. Ha’a’aah, or east, is where life begins and where the sun rises. Shadi aah, or south, is where you get warmth. E’e’aah, or west, is the way you spend your day, what is ahead and behind, and where the sun is carried away at sunset. Nahokos, or north, is where every thing is put to rest. This tribute is done in support of a good life. Native Americans have a great respect for nature and are tremendous stewards of God’s creation. Their stewardship is the reason why so many natural things have survived a world bent on destroying these gifts from God. We could all benefit from Native American values as we struggle to support the environmental issues that are destroying our planet.
Along with making tributes for a good life, the Navajos say a beautiful prayer for strength and courage, much like a modern prayer found in newer Bibles. Perhaps more of us should ask for beauty in our lives as we pray for peace and as we seek answers to the many difficulties in our world.
Beauty
In beauty I walk.
With beauty before me I walk.
With beauty behind me I walk.
With beauty around me I walk.
With beauty above me I walk.
In beauty I will rest my heart.
In beauty all will be in balance.
In beauty all is made whole.
In beauty all will be restored.
In my youth I am aware of it,
And in old age I shall walk quietly on the beautiful trail.
In beauty it is begun.
In beauty it is ended.
Our lives would be so much more resilient and positive if we could only assimilate a little of these Navajo beliefs into our own culture. In our fast-moving society today, where do we find the beauty, if at all? Despite many Native American children being taken away from their families to be assimilated into the American culture of the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, cultural beliefs and languages have survived a government that tried to do away with all Native American tribes all together. In fact, if the atrocious immigration policies of the current administration continue, how many American citizens will truly feel safe in our own country? I salute the Navajo code talkers because they were largely responsible for saving thousands of lives during vicious battles in the Pacific. They did not hesitate to serve this nation in its hours of war, despite the fact that they were not considered to be citizens and could not vote until many years later. They felt it was their responsibility to serve God more than the United States.
The United States owes Native Americans much more than we have given them. They have given us so much beauty where we have tried to eliminate their contributions. Christ wants us to love one another. It’s about time we start thanking those who have loved our land from the very beginning of time. Let us see their beauty and respect all they have done for us as a nation. They are the ubuntu, “the I am because we are.”As for the current philosophy about who we are, we are “a melting pot of cultures,” not one culture. Anyone who tries to make this nation one culture is not doing what Christ wants us to do … to love one another. All cultures are America; that is what makes us great!
Anna Hartt
