Code talker

A code talker was a person who was hired by the United States military during wartime to use a little-known language as a means of secret communication through codes. The term is now usually known with United States service members during the World Wars who used their knowledge of Native American languages.

About 400 to 500 Native Americans in the United States Marine Corps whose primary job was to transmit secret tactical messages.

The code talkers improved the speed of encryption and decryption of communications in front line operations during World War II.

Native soldiers developed two types of Native American Code Talking (NACT). First developed by Choctaw in World War I, Type one NACT contained coded vocabulary, collections of words or phrases that were assigned to military subjects, within their languages. Type two NACT simply used existing Native languages. Both forms worked as codes because they were based on languages unknown to the enemy and, as the new codes were not based on mathematical processes as found in most code and cipher systems, the enemy had nothing to which to compare them.

During World War II, Comanche soldiers created about 250 coded terms, while Navajo soldiers eventually developed more than 700 terms. Many terms were based on everyday things in the tribal communities such as animals, food, material items and descriptions. Examples of code terms include the Comanche terms for tank (“wakaree’e” or “turtle”) and telephone exchange (“puhihwi tekwapu kahni” or “metal talking house”); the Hopi terms for ship (“pa-a-ki-hu” or “houses on water”) and the M-1 rifle (mouth and one); and the Navajo term for grenade (“ni-ma-si” or “potatoes”). A 1941 edition of the journal “The Masterkey” reports that one of the tribes in the Chippewa and Oneida group developed terms based on the colors of military hat cords and other insignia, with the Native word for “blue” meaning infantry, “yellow” meaning cavalry and “red” for artillery. The Comanche even had a code name for Adolf Hitler—“Po’sa taiboo’” (Crazy White Man). Hopi, Meskwaki and Canadian Cree also had specially devised code terms, although the number is unknown.

Eight Hopi code talkers were in the 81st Division. Although Frank Chapella, Franklin Shupla and Warren Koopyaquaptewa were all from the village of Tewa, they were both Tewa and Hopi and so spoke both of these tribes’ languages. Frank Chapella’s wife, Elidia Chapella, and his son, Marshall Shupla, recall how these three individuals spoke to one another in Tewa (their matrilineal classification through their mothers) and in Hopi with the other five members of their unit.

Some Type one NACT groups like the Comanche and Navajo also developed alphabet systems, using the first letter of English words translated from Native words to spell out names of individuals and locations. For example, the translation of the Comanche words for pear, ant, rain, ice and snake could be combined to convey “Paris.” While the Comanche used an open system by using any word that translated to the desired letter, the Navajo developed a set vocabulary, such as “wol-la-chee” (ant) for the letter a, “shush” (bear) for b, “moasi” (cat) for c and so on. Later they developed three interchangeable words for each English letter. Both systems prevented repetition and inhibited breaking of the code.

One of the benefits of using these codes derived from Native language was open-air messages could be sent faster, often in one to two minutes compared to existing encryption methods requiring up to four hours to craft, communicate and decode. NACT messages were typically brief—usually less than three lines—to avoid creating radio congestion, drawing enemy attention, providing repetition or giving the enemy more transmissions to analyze. “Whenever we sent a message it was short, sweet and to the point,” Comanche code talker Roderick Red Elk noted.

Because of the speed of their communications, code talkers were especially important in relaying information and conveying orders that needed immediate implementation or response, such as troop movement, enemy resistance, evacuation of wounded and directing artillery, ammunition and other supplies. “It was in these defensive positions where you used it quite a bit,” Comanche code talker Forrest Kassanavoid said. “All critical information, something they felt was really top secret, was in Comanche.”

During 1943 and 1944, U.S. Army, Navy and Marine Corps representatives considered increasing their numbers of American Indian code talkers. However, Army and Navy leaders were skeptical the code talkers’ messages were secure and decided not to expand their units. The Marine Corps expressed optimism but kept silent about its growing program.

Despite these decisions, several Army and Army Air Forces units each had small groups of Native communicators. In the Pacific, seven Lakota soldiers in the 302nd Reconnaissance Troop became known as “MacArthur’s Boys,” while the 5th Bomb Command in the 5th Army Air Force had a radio net of 15 Native Americans who sent radio communications in Acoma-Laguna, Apache, Crow, Hopi, Lakota and other Native languages. In the Pacific, the Navajo, the largest group of code talkers, served in every major campaign, from the Battle of Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands from August 1942 to February 1943 to the Battle of Okinawa, which lasted from April to June 1945.

Related pages

• Native Americans in the United States
• Windtalkers, 2002 American war movie about code talkers

More reading

• Iggulden, Hal; Iggulden, Conn (2007). "Navajo Code Talkers' Dictionary". The Dangerous Book for Boys. New York: HarperCollins. pp. 100–104. ISBN 978-0061243585.