A code talker was a person employed by the military during wartime to use a little-known language as a means of secret communication. The term is most often used for United States service members during the World Wars who used their knowledge of Native American languages as a basis to transmit coded messages. In particular,there were approximately 400 to 500 Native Americans in the United States Marine Corps whose primary job was to transmit secret tactical messages. Code talkers transmitted messages over military telephone or radio communications nets using formally or informally developed codes built upon their indigenous languages. The code talkers improved the speed of encryption and decryption of communications in front line operations during World War II and are credited with some decisive victories. Their code was never broken.
The Navajo Nation,also known as Navajoland,is an Indian reservation of Navajo people in the United States. It occupies portions of northeastern Arizona,northwestern New Mexico,and southeastern Utah. The seat of government is located in Window Rock,Arizona.
The Navajo Nation Council is the Legislative Branch of the Navajo Nation government. The council meets four times per year,with additional special sessions,at the Navajo Nation Council Chamber,which is in Window Rock,Arizona.
The Navajo or Diné,are a Native American people of the Southwestern United States.
Joe Shirley Jr. is a Navajo politician who is the only two-term President of the Navajo Nation. He served as president from 2003 to 2011. He lives in Chinle,Arizona,and is Tódíchʼíiʼnii,born for Tábąąhá.
Coyote Waits is a crime novel by American writer Tony Hillerman,the tenth in the Joe Leaphorn/Jim Chee Navajo Tribal Police series,first published in 1990.
Rezball,short for "reservation ball," is a style of basketball associated with Native Americans,particularly at the high school level in the Southwestern United States,where many of the Indian reservations were created in the country.
Albert A. Hale was an American attorney and politician. A member of the Democratic Party,he served in the Arizona Senate from 2004 to 2011 and in the Arizona House of Representatives from 2011 to 2017.
Ben Shelly was the 7th president of the Navajo Nation. He was the first president to have been elected both president and vice president of the Navajo Nation,as well as the first New Mexican Navajo to hold the Navajo presidency.
Frank Chee Willeto was an American politician and Navajo code talker during World War II. Willeto served as the vice president of the Navajo Nation under President Milton Bluehouse,Sr. from his appointment in August 1998 until January 1999,when the Begaye administration took office.
Russell Begaye is a Navajo politician who served as the 8th president of Navajo Nation from May 2015 to January 2019. He was the second New Mexican Navajo to hold the Navajo Presidency.
Carlyle W. Begay is a Diné-American politician. A member of the Republican Party,he represented the seventh district in the Arizona State Senate which is the largest Legislative State District in the Continental United States.
The Navajo Nation presidential election of 2018 was held on Tuesday,November 6,2018. The candidates for President of the Navajo Nation in the general election were Jonathan Nez and Joe Shirley,Jr. Jonathan Nez and running mate Myron Lizer won the election. Although neither Nez nor Shirley were incumbents,they possessed the high name recognition associated with incumbents.
Jonathan Nez is a Navajo politician who served as the 9th President of the Navajo Nation from 2019 to 2023. He previously served as Vice President and as a Navajo Nation Council delegate.
On March 17,2020,the COVID-19 pandemic was reported to have reached the Navajo Nation. The virus then spread rapidly through the Navajo Nation to the point that the Navajo,in 2020,had a higher per capita rate of infection than any state of the United States. The population according to the 2010 United States census was 173,667. As of September 13,2022,the number of confirmed cases was 31,571 with 1,893 deaths.
Jill Jim is an American (Navajo) health administrator and epidemiologist serving as executive director of the Navajo Department of Health. She is a member of U.S. President Joe Biden's COVID-19 Advisory Board.
The 2022 Navajo Nation presidential election took place on Tuesday,November 8,2022,to elect the president and vice president of the Navajo Nation. The primary election was held on August 2. Incumbent president Jonathan Nez ran for reelection with attorney Chad Abeyta as his running mate. Incumbent Vice President Myron Lizer did not seek re-election,instead running for U.S. House in Arizona. Nez and Abeyta advanced to the general election,as did the challenging ticket of construction manager Buu Nygren and Torreon/Star Lake Chapter President Richelle Montoya. Nygren and Montoya won the general election by a 6-point margin,and Montoya became the Navajo Nation's first female vice president.
Buu Nygren is a Navajo politician currently serving as the 10th President of the Navajo Nation.
Richelle Montoya is an American politician who is the 11th vice president of the Navajo Nation. She is the first woman elected to the executive office of Navajo Nation.
