Estimated read time: 4-5 minutes
- Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren said the military will restore scrubbed online Navajo Code Talker articles.
- Code Talker references had been removed from some Army and DOD websites to comply with federal anti-diversity, equity and inclusion directives.
- The military action "is not only disrespectful, it is dishonorable," said Navajo Nation Council Speaker Crystalyne Curley.
WINDOW ROCK, Arizona — U.S. Department of Defense officials say they'll restore online information and articles related to the Navajo Code Talkers that had been scrubbed — inadvertently, apparently — as part of a political push in Washington to root out diversity initiatives.
"Recognizing the work of the Navajo Code Talkers is profoundly significant to the Navajo Nation," Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren said in a letter Tuesday to U.S. defense officials, cited in a post on his Facebook page. "During World War II, the Navajo Code Talkers made indispensable contributions to American military successes in the Pacific theater."
In a statement to KSL.com, the U.S. Department of Defense confirmed plans to restore the material, saying, "The department is restoring content about the Navajo Code Talkers. It had previously been removed during the auto-removal process."
Likewise, U.S. Army spokesman Christopher Surridge said in a statement Wednesday that historical content "from culturally focused Army websites" that had been recently taken down "will soon be republished online." He also offered praiseworthy words for the military contributions of Navajo Nation members.
"The heroic actions of the Navajo Code Talkers will live in the annals of our nation's history forever, and we are proud to restore articles highlighting these soldiers who bravely served in both world wars," Surridge said.
Axios reported Monday that articles on Native American Code Talkers, instrumental in U.S. military communication efforts during World War II, had been removed from some U.S. Army and U.S. Department of Defense websites. The action stemmed from directives from President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to remove material from federal archives deemed to be created to promote the notions of diversity, equity and inclusion.
The removal, though, prompted backlash from Navajo Nation leaders.
"The service of the Navajo Code Talkers secured victory in the Battle of Iwo Jima and in World War II. The Navajo Code Talkers earned their place in history through their courage and sacrifice, giving their lives in defense of this nation," Crystalyne Curley, speaker of the Navajo Nation Council, said in a statement. "Erasing their extraordinary contributions from formal military history is not only disrespectful, it is dishonorable."
Last week, Utah Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson asked Trump to restore links to the "Women's History" category on Arlington National Cemetery's list of notable graves after they were removed — also as part of an apparent push to root out diversity initiatives.
'Not a racial group'
Nygren said in his Facebook message that he had sought "clarification" on the scrubbing from U.S. Army and U.S. Department of Defense officials when he was informed the material would be restored. In a new post on Wednesday, he said he was told the removal of the material was inadvertent.
"White House officials reached out to my office and confirmed that removal of 'Navajo' from the agency websites was a result of an error caused by artificial intelligence (AI) automated review process associated with diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives," he wrote.
Either way, Nygren and Curley said tribal matters don't fall under the umbrella of diversity, equity and inclusion activity, which has been a target of the Trump administration.
The Navajo Nation "is not a racial group, but a distinct political entity," Curley said. "The nation's relationship with the federal government is grounded in treaties and federal trust responsibilities, not in racial categorization."
Axios noted that at least 10 articles referencing the Code Talkers had been removed from the U.S. Army and Department of Defense websites. The U.S. Marine Corps website hadn't removed Code Talkers content.
A Jan. 31 U.S. Department of Defense press release declaring identity months "dead" warned that actions "to put one group ahead of another" are a threat to military cohesion, underscoring Trump administration opposition to diversity initiatives. "We are proud of our warriors and their history, but we will focus on the character of their service instead of their immutable characteristics," it reads.
The Navajo Nation covers an expanse of southeastern Utah, northeastern Arizona and northwestern New Mexico where the three states meet.
