Labriola National American Indian Data Center University Libraries Arizona State University Box 871006 Tempe, Arizona 85287-1006 www.asu.edu/lib/archives/labriola.htm

Patricia A. Etter, Curator Joyce Martin, Reference

Table of Contents Iverson's Navajo History H-AmIndian: Who It Serves and How it Serves Them Joyce Kievit, PhD Joins H-AmIndian Staff Windtalkers Star Roger Willie Laura Tohe Interviewed on WBUR Southwestern Cultures Featured in ASU Digital Exhibit NMAI Construction on Target Recent Acquisitions From the Society of Ethnomusicology List Fr. Augustine Schwarz Exhibit

Iverson’s Navajo History - Due Soon in Bookstores Peter Iverson, Regents Professor of History at Arizona State University, has completed a comprehensive history of the Navajo: Diné A History of the Navajos. The book also features photographs by Navajo photographer, Monty Roessel. Iverson writes that Navajo identity is rooted in land, which is bordered by the four sacred mountains. At the same time the people have successfully incorporated new elements and new ways of doing things to their culture. The author includes major themes and events of the twentieth century, including political leadership, livestock reduction, Code Talkers, schools, health care, government, economic development, the arts, and athletics. Iverson’s second book, For Our Navajo People Diné Letters, Speeches, and Petitions, 1900-1960, reproduces one hundred documents written by prominent Navajo leaders, including Chee Dodge, and Annie Wauneka; spokespersons such as Howard Gorman; students at boarding schools; World War II soldiers; and members of the Native American Church. The book celebrates the resilience of the Diné and honors the men, women, and children who built the Navajo Nation. Both books are published by the University of New Mexico Press.

H-AmIndian:Who It Serves and How It Serves Them By Justina Parsons-Bernstein, PhD A joint project between Arizona State University and H-NET, H-AmIndian includes an edited discussion list that considers the history, culture, ideas, and events relating to Native peoples from the North Pole to Latin America. H-AmIndian is used by scholars, teachers, students, archivists, museum professionals, writers, media hosts, preservationists, lawyers, environmentalists, lobbyists, activists, and tribal officials seeking information on issues concerning the various indigenous communities. Scores of list members have written to express their appreciation of H-AmIndian. Following is a sampling of comments: “Words cannot express how much this list means to me, drydocked as I am outside conventional Indian Country.” “I skim the list daily, specifically for issues related to our work with indigenous language revitalization.” “I forward relevant items to colleagues and friends across the world.” “I use the information from the FYIs in my history and anthropology classes.” “Whether I am teaching about Indians’ history or about Indians and the law, I tell my students that Indians are still making history and still raising or arguing issues of law that impact many Americans.”

Joyce Kievit, PhD Joins H-AmIndian Staff Joyce Kievit (Eastern Cherokee) comes to ASU from the University of Houston, as the new editor of H-AmIndian. She replaces Justina Parsons-Bernstein, who has taken the position, Coordinator of the Cultural Forum, at the University of Oregon in Eugene. Dr. Kievit has long been interested in American Indian History and retains ties with the American Indian Community. She wrote her Master’s thesis on the Cherokee Nation during the Civil War for the University of Houston, Clear Lake, receiving that degree in 1992. She defended her dissertation, “Trail of Tears to Veil of Tears: The Impact of Removal on Reconstruction in Indian Territory,” at the University of Houston in April 2002. In addition to experience as a web developer and researcher, she has received a number of awards for her scholarship. She has published biographical entries in Native American Women: A Biographical Dictionary (Garland, 1993 and 2001) and Handbook of American Women’s History (Sage, 2000). Dr. Kievit is currently working on an entry for a volume for ABC-CLIO, “The Experience of Native Americans During the Second World War.”

Windtalkers Star Roger Willie Autographs Labriola Broadside Roger Willie came to the Navajo Room in the Phoenix Indian Center on June 26, to autograph the poster, “Unbreakable Code,” which was painted by artist, Baji Whitethorne. Whitethorne created an image depicting Willie as a Code Talker in the movie, Windtalkers, and added a variety of scenes from Navajoland. Navajo Code Talker, Joe Kellwood was also available to sign the book The Warriors: Navajo Code Talkers.

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NMAI Construction On Target Curator, Patricia Etter, visited the construction site of the much-anticipated National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C. Occupying the last available site on the mall, the striking building is beginning to take shape. An air-cooled trailer is close by so visitors can look at models, color schemes, and learn more about the museum. The museum will open in September 2004. In the meantime, on September 14 and 15, 2002, NMAI will host a national powwow on the National Mall to honor the tradition of powwows when Indian communities host such events across the country.

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We also learn from National Museum of the American Indian (Summer 2002), that the Oneida Nation donated $10 million to the NMAI project on April 12, 2002. The Oneida Nation money will go directly to the completion and opening of the new museum.

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New On the Labriola Bookshelf The Marine Corps Navajo Code Talker Program was established in September 1942. At that time, few people outside of the reservation spoke the Navajo language, and it was expected that it would be completely unintelligible to an outsider and could successfully be used as a code to transmit secret messages (the Choctaw language had been used as a code during World War I). The experiment was successful and by the end of World War II there were some 400 active Navajo code talkers in the Pacific Campaign. They were instrumental in almost every Marine action in the Pacific from Guadalcanal to Okinawa in 1945. To this day, it remains the only un- broken code ever used in the history of war. The Labriola Center is pleased to add a CD-ROM from the History and Museums Division, Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps, Washington, D. C., containing now declassified information on the formation of the Code Talker Program: Navajo Code Talkers: Oral History Collection. Call Number is D810.I5 M37. First, is 17-page copy of the Navajo Dictionary, revised as of June, 1945. Second, is a short history of the program and transcription of interviews with eight Code Talkers: Sidney Bedoni, Alex Williams, Jimmy King, Sr., Wilfred Billey, Carl Gorman, Paul Blatchford, John Benally, and W. Dean Wilson. There is an index to the 172 pages recorded on the disk. Third, is correspondence dealing with the recruitment and training of the Navajo Code Talkers, most dated from 1943. Last, is the Master Schedule of the Navajo Code Talker’s 4-week course with the Field Signal Battalion, Camp Pendleton, Oceanside, California. The Labriola Center has prepared a Code Talker Bibliography, which can be printed out from the Labriola web page.