In honor of National Navajo Code Talkers Day on August 14, Naval Information Warfare Center (NIWC) Atlantic pays tribute to the legacy of the Navajo Code Talkers, whose ingenious use of their native language played a pivotal role in World War II.

This day of recognition, established by President Ronald Reagan in 1982 through Proclamation 4954, serves as a powerful reminder of the critical contributions made by Navajo and other Native American code talkers.

Today we celebrate by highlighting a recent opportunity that NIWC Atlantic employees of Native American descent were able to participate in, enabling them to connect with Indigenous communities within the Lowcountry.

Members of NIWC Atlantic’s American Indian/Alaskan Native (AIAN) Employment Team recently participated in the 47th Annual Edisto Natchez-Kusso Tribe Powwow this past spring at the Dorchester Heritage Center in Ridgeville, South Carolina.

During this vibrant two-day event, which showcased the rich cultural heritage of various tribes through drum circles, tribal dances, arts, traditional attire, and authentic food, members of NIWC Atlantic’s AIAN team presented an interactive display that engaged attendees with hands-on activities related to science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), reflecting the command’s commitment to honoring and supporting Native American cultures.

“It was our opportunity to showcase what we do every day and more importantly, what they can do, if they’re interested in science, engineering, technology or math,” said Ornette Harley, financial analyst and AIAN team co-lead who spearheaded the effort. “We wanted to show the attendees that STEM is for everyone, no matter their skill level, age, gender or ethnicity.”

The highlight of the display was the Caesar cipher disk, a secret decoder wheel encrypted with uplifting messages for those who dared to take the challenge of deciphering the hidden messages letter by letter.

The Caesar cipher is named after Julia Caesar, who used it in his correspondence to protect messages of military significance. Each letter is substituted for another letter based on a fixed number of positions down the alphabet, shifting either left or right.

“The cipher is a great way for children to learn the basics of cryptography and how Native Americans were among the first to implement it in defense of our nation,” Harley said.

Cryptography is the practice of hiding or encrypting information so that only the person a message was intended for can read it.

“American Indians have been using traditional tribal languages to send secret messages during battle since World War I,” Harley said.

According to the National Museum of the American Indian website, throughout the first world war, members of the Choctaw Nation could be heard on the frontlines using their native language to communicate amongst each other. When U.S. Army Soldiers realized the Germans had tapped into their telephone lines, they recruited Choctaw men, who became known as the Choctaw Telephone Squad, to use their native language to code secret messages.

During World War II, the U.S. Marine Corps recruited members of Navajo Tribe to create coded messages. This tribe had no written language, no alphabet and no words for some of the words we used in English, so their coded messages were even more complex to decipher. The Navajo Code Talkers became famous, but in reality, more than 15 Native tribes, including the Cherokee and Comanche, were recruited to utilize their languages to transmit secret messages for the Allies throughout Europe and the Pacific.

“Through the use of the cipher disks, we were able to show the children and their parents that Native Americans have always been at the forefront of information warfare,” said Taralyn Goodson, financial analyst. “I think we helped them better understand and appreciate that our modern technology for coding was heavily influenced by the innovation, knowledge, and culture of Indigenous Peoples.”

Harley, Goodson, and their fellow AIAN Employment Team members Cindi Brown and Lora Foster, disseminated information about STEM activities the children can do with their parents online at home, as well as, pamphlets with information regarding internship opportunities with NIWC Atlantic for both high school and college students.

Native Americans are still underrepresented in STEM fields and in high-paying tech jobs, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce website. Brown, an information technology specialist, said she wanted to be a part of changing that. She ensured the parents and children with whom she interacted learned about available opportunities at NIWC Atlantic — right here in the Lowcountry — that can lead to jobs following graduation.

“Native Americans were the original coders; we were the first to win at information warfare. We’ve been a part of this military family since the pioneering days. Today, we should be proud of our natural ingenuity, and just like any Americans, use that aptitude for innovation to acquire good-paying tech jobs that also help maintain our national security,” Brown said, adding that NIWC Atlantic provides this opportunity and welcomes people from all ethnic backgrounds.

“We invest in our people,” Brown said. “We want to see all nationalities represented at the table, in leadership positions and recognized for being the driving forces for many of our projects in support of the military and several other federal agencies.”

Foster, a financial analyst, said she hopes those who visited the AIAN team’s display were encouraged to look more into the opportunities introduced to them at the powwow.

“I think sometimes children don’t think these jobs are for them, because they don’t often see leadership that look like themselves,” Foster said. “We offered them insight into different perspectives about different careers based on things they already know how to do. They have been doing it all along. I hope after talking to us and participating in the cipher games, they realize that what they do intuitively translates to a skill that is used in the workforce, especially for government agencies or the military, in information technology, networking, cybersecurity and so much more.”

Foster offered this sentiment based on one of the cipher’s decoded messages: “You just proved you are smart enough to pursue a STEM career.”

“Even if this message resonates with only one child, it was worth all the effort to be here,” Foster said.

For NIWC Atlantic employees who are interested in connecting with the Native American community, empowering the next generation of Native American innovators, or educating the workforce about the accomplishments and contributions of Native Americans, contact the AIAN Employment Team by emailing [email protected].

About NIWC Atlantic

As a part of Naval Information Warfare Systems Command, NIWC Atlantic provides systems engineering and acquisition to deliver information warfare capabilities to the naval, joint and national warfighter through the acquisition, development, integration, production, test, deployment, and sustainment of interoperable command, control, communications, computer, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, cyber and information technology capabilities.