Naabik’iyati Committee still debating Legislation 0078-14: opposing use of disparaging references to Native people in professional sports franchises.
NAVAJO CODE TALKER PRESIDENT PETER MAC DONALD SR.
We lose about 3 or 4 Code Talkers a year. Many of us are 80 years and older. We support museum and veterans center on 240 acres donated to Code Talkers Association.
and it has been custom since it was organized to respond to patriotic organizations that ask us to attend function, such as Veterans’ Day for Code Talkers to be Honor Guard.
We have been responding to requests for appearence.
Our appearance in Washington, D.C., was to be honored with other veterans, which is annual event. There was no mention of the name. We were asked by them to be honored and like other invitations, we accepted. It does good for Navajo and for us cuz we are in business of seeking help for Navajo Code Talker Museum and Veteran Center.
So this talk about NCT bought off and treated like pawns is really an insult to Navajo Code Talkers that is not how it is. These people were really patriotic and they cud not thank Navajo people enough for using language in World War II.
and in Marine corp spirit you never forget your marine buddies that never made it home. so we also attend those events that honor the fallen.
but the media always try to make what they believe is fact. but that is far from the truth. Red Skins never offered to pay us for anything. They paid for trip and lodging. They never gave us one penny. They gave us jacket and the media was all upset about that.
“We have no problem with name.”
We have no experience with being called red skin that was bad or dirty. I was never subjected to that kind of insult. I’ve been called dumb Indian, dirty Indian.
So my picture of red skin is Indian or they cud call us brown skin, like they call Blacks, black skin. So red not bad word, skin not bad word and two together are not bad.
Just north of Sweetwater, Red Mesa High School, they have nickname “Red Skins” and they’re proud to wear caps, jackets.
so from navajo point of view, I personally have never been subjected to that kind of slur that is being attributed to Red Skins.
As matter of fact, is was talked that kids lose respect and don’t think good of themselves. I asked relatives and kids at Red Mesa High School. I asked if it bothered them to be called Red Skins. There was no self pity. Many of them graduated from college and are contributing to community.
Maybe some native kid else where is having problem. navajo kids are strong and will endure name calling.
our grandparents went thru boarding schools and endured all kinds of abuse, including being punished for speaking language.
I have ever respect for Council and have never disrespected Council so it is wrong to accuse Code Talkers of doing wrong. And there was no NFL Red Skins Synder at our Feb.
We also learned that Red Skins created partnership with Navajo Arts and Crafts Enterprise and that is what Navajo Division of Economic Development28 Code Talker meeting Director Albert Damon told me. He said jobs created and several more in the works, plus lucrative contract for hundreds of millions. I’ll leave that to him to tell you. Knowing that I felt it very necessary to clear up the Code Talker part.
And I was given this information from NFL Red Skins about how they got their name was given to me for you. And again we were never asked about Red Skins name.
DELEGATE JOSH BUTLER
This is not about Navajo Code Talkers. This is Human rights issues. And yes, Code Talkers get invited to events. But this is to establish Navajo Nation position against the use of disparaging names for native people.
I never said that Code Talkers were paid off or that Code Talkers damaged name of Council. I have no control over what news media report, what Indian Country Today and Marley Shebala report.
