Code Talker

Code Talker is told from the perspective of Ned Begay, and he addresses the narrative to his “grandchildren.” Why does the author present the narrative this way? Do you imagine Ned means Navajo youths or a broader audience when he says “grandchildren”?

At many points in the book, Begay reflects on his experiences at boarding school and in war, and how he maintained his Navajo rituals and prayers even when pressed to abandon them. How do you think that being Navajo shapes Ned’s experience of the war? How do you think a non-Indigenous account of the code-talker experience would differ?

The Navajo people occupied North America for a long time before white settlers came and displaced them, bringing suffering and hardship to Indigenous Americans. The history of the Indigenous relationship to the US government is fraught with broken promises and cruelty. And yet, during World War Two, many in the Navajo tribe are eager to serve in support of the United States. What do you make of this Navajo patriotism?