Celebrating Native Americans

PARRIS ISLAND, S.C. — November is Native American History Month, a time when Americans can look back and recognize the contributions Native Americans have made throughout this country’s history.

Native Americans have made many notable contributions shaping the country into what it has become today. Some of those contributions are from participation in battles throughout our nation’s history and serving with distinction, said Dr. Stephen Wise, curator at the Parris Island Museum

Of particular note are the Navajo Code Talkers, a well known group of Native Americans who served with Marines during the Pacific Campaign of World War II.

“One of the reasons the Navajo were so effective in combat was because they could translate very quickly and their language had no written portion for the Japanese to study,” said Wise, of Toledo, Ohio.

The Marine Corps realized in early 1942 the need for additional forms of secure battlefield communication leading to the recruitment of young Navajo men, as radiomen, from reservations across the
American West.

Impressed with the results from testing the Navajo language as a code and the speed at which the young men could translate, the Marine Corps sent the first group of Navajo to recruit training in May of 1942.

The first group of Code Talkers were assigned to the 1st Marine Division and fought in the battle of Guadalcanal in 1942. Again impressed with the success of the skilled communicators, the U.S. assigned Navajo Code Talkers to all Marine Corps Divisions for the duration of the war and they participated in every Pacific landing made by Marines.

“The Japanese captured several Navajo during the war, but none of them were Code Talkers and they couldn’t tell the Japanese anything about the code,” Wise said.

“The captured Navajo could confirm it was their language, but that was it,” Wise added. “It may have been their language, but it was still a code none-the-less.”

While Navajo Code Talkers may be well known, many other Native American tribes have served side by side with American servicemembers during other wars.

During World War I, Choctaw and Cherokee Indians were assigned to the 142nd Infantry Regiment, of the 36th Oklahoma-Texas National Guard Division. The 142nd saw fierce fighting across the western front and several of its soldiers received awards from the government of France for gallantry in battle.

“A lot of people know about the Navajo Code Talkers, but before them the Choctaw used their native language as a code during the First World War,” said Dave Smoot, a technician at the Parris Island Museum.

Choctaw Code Talkers are recognized as the first to use their native language as an unbreakable code during World War I. The Choctaws used their language again as a code during World War II to give exact details and locations without fear of German forces intercepting
their communications.

Before World Wars I and II, Native Americans had already made significant contributions to the military. Tracking and scouting enemy positions was a skill set many American commanders relied upon from the Revolutionary War to the Civil War.

The Depot celebrated Native American culture in a ceremony held Monday at the Religious Ministries Center.

Guest speaker Debra Bush, a member of the Creek Indian Tribe, spoke about the proud  warrior spirit of many Native Americans and how some of their traditions carry on today.

Following that warrior spirit is what Sgt. Tonya Irvine-Davis, a field wireman with the computer and telecommunications systems aboard the Depot, said drew her to the Corps.

Irvine-Davis, of the Salish Kootenai Tribe, from Ann Arbor, Mich., said she couldn’t wait to join the Marine Corps.

“I wanted to be in the Marines since I was 16,” Irvine-Davis said. “My parents had to sign for me at 17 and I was in the DEP (Delayed Entry Program) for nine months before I came to boot camp.”

Irvine-Davis arrived aboard the Depot two weeks after high school graduation to attend recruit training. She said her reason for joining the Marines was because she wanted to be the best of the best.

Irvine-Davis says her beliefs and pride in being Native American have helped her adapt to the
Marine Corps.

“My native beliefs have helped me in so many ways,” Irvine-Davis said. Native Americans must show respect to their elders, who are known as the wise ones. In the Marine Corps, Marines show respect and take in the wisdom of anyone who outranks them.

Irvine-Davis added that she is proud to be a Native American and feels privileged to serve in the Marine Corps, continuing the warrior traditions that many Native American tribes have possessed for generations.