Progress is being made in an effort to build a museum paying homage to one of the most ingenious initiatives in U.S. military history.
The Navajo Code Talkers was comprised of Native American soldiers who used their language to send secret tactical messages during World War II. The language proved entirely bewildering to the Nazi military command which never, despite repeated attempts, was able to decipher it.
Using the language of not just the Navajo people, but also the Comanche, Hopi, and Meskwaki tribes, the code talkers and their efforts in the war have since been lauded by historians and presidents.
Now, an effort to see the completion of a museum just outside Gallup honoring the Code Talkers is receiving new state funding.
Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham has given her signature to a capital outlay of around $1.5 million, earlier approved by state lawmakers to support the project.
The Governor has long been supportive of the effort, remarking of the Code Talkers two years ago: “Their steadfast service to a Nation that had systematically underserved and undervalued Indigenous people is a true testament to their character and a debt that we will never be able to repay fully.”
The project received an initial $1 million in state funding in 2019 to go primarily for the design of the new facility, followed by an additional $6.4 million in 2023. An exhibition by the American Institute of Architects subsequently revealed a schematic design for the project on some 300 acres blending “the architecture, the land, and the Navajo People’s resilient culture.”
Earlier estimates have suggested that it may ultimately cost as much as $46.6 million to complete the museum. Officials with the project have said that, to that end, they are also seeking private support.
By Garry Boulard
