PHOENIX — In a response to recent concerns, the Pentagon reinstated a series of webpages on Wednesday that honored the wartime contributions of the Navajo Code Talkers and other Native American veterans. This decision came after tribal leaders expressed disappointment over the previous removal of these pages. The original deletion was part of a broader action taken by the Defense Department, conforming to an executive order issued under former President Donald Trump, to eliminate content related to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) across federal agencies.
Department officials clarified that the removal of the Navajo Code Talker content was an unintentional mistake. Pentagon press secretary John Ullyot addressed the error, stating that when content is incorrectly removed, the directive instructs their restoration to appropriately honor the service of heroes who fought alongside fellow Americans.
Initially, several Navajo Code Talker pages displayed a “404 – Page not found” error on Tuesday, but some were restored by Wednesday, although those tied to Native American Heritage Month remained offline. The DEI purge left many other similar pages still inaccessible. The White House explained to the Navajo Nation that an AI-powered process intended to detect DEI content mistakenly flagged anything mentioning “Navajo” for deletion. Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren expressed satisfaction with the rectification and assured continual dialogue with federal officials to safeguard the legacy of the Navajo Code Talkers.
Nygren emphasized the sovereignty of the 574 federally recognized tribes within the U.S., which should not be bound by DEI classifications. This sentiment was echoed by other Native American leaders who communicated their concerns to the Trump administration. The U.S. Marine Corps during World War II initially recruited 29 Navajo Code Talkers to craft an unbreakable communication code based on the Navajo language. This initiative proved vital in transmitting error-free messages about enemy troop movements and strategies, ultimately contributing to the Allies’ success in the Pacific theater.
Within their ranks, hundreds of Navajo individuals followed the original group, making significant contributions by using their language as a secret weapon, which baffled Japanese cryptologists. Besides the Navajo, more than 20 other tribes, including the Choctaw, Cherokee, and Hopi, also participated as code talkers in both World Wars.
Peter MacDonald, one of the only two surviving Navajo Code Talkers at the age of 96, along with Thomas H. Begay, responded with concern to the news of the missing webpages. MacDonald highlighted the integral role of the code in saving lives and aiding victory in the Pacific. A Republican voter for Trump, he stressed the importance of distinguishing between eliminating DEI and neglecting historical achievements.
The Defense Department has reassured that there is no intent to disregard historical accomplishments of service members of color. They also restored a webpage outlining Jackie Robinson’s military service, which had been missing earlier, along with pages dedicated to other minority servicemen like a Black Medal of Honor recipient and Japanese American veterans.
Michael Smith, son of Navajo Code Talker Samuel “Jesse” Smith Sr., questioned the rationale behind the removals, suggesting that the purge did not align with the president’s cost-cutting directive. Concerns were further shared by Gov. Stephen Roe Lewis of the Gila River Indian Community, pertaining to missing content on Native American veterans, including Ira Hayes. Hayes was among the Marines immortalized in the famous Iwo Jima flag-raising photograph.
As some pages have returned online, Lewis remains apprehensive, believing this issue to represent only a small part of a potentially wider problem. The broader context of the executive order seemingly undermines diversity initiatives, presenting them as unethical, an interpretation critiqued by advocates like Smith.
