Speakers Bureau Speaker
Laura Tohe, Mesa
Laura Tohe is Diné and was raised by her family and relatives on the Navajo reservation. She has written and co-authored four books. The most recent, Tseyi, Deep in the Rock, was listed as one of the Southwest Books of the Year in 2005 by the Pima County Public Library. She received the 2006 Dan Shilling Public Scholar Award from the Arizona Humanities Council. She has written essays, stories, a children’s play, and a commissioned libretto for the Phoenix Symphony Orchestra. Her current book project is on the Navajo Code Talkers. She is currently Associate Professor in the English Department at Arizona State University.
"Armed with Our Language, We Went to War: The Diné/Navajo Code Talkers"
During WWII, a small group of Diné (Navajo) men from the Navajo homeland enlisted in the Marines with a unique armor. This select group of men devised a code using the Diné language to pass secret information without the enemy ever deciphering or breaking the code. For years a cloak of secrecy hung over the service these Diné Code Talkers gave to the U.S. government and country. Over 40 years later, the code was declassified and the Code Talkers were recognized and honored for their military contributions to the war effort by Presidents Reagan and Bush, and the Navajo Nation. A slide show and lecture cover how the code was devised and used, personal quotes from the Marines, why the young Marines enlisted in the military, and photos of the Code Talkers. Personal family photos from the lecturer are included.
Oral and Written Literature Among Southwestern Indigenous Writers and Storytellers
This presentation focuses on oral literature such as songs, stories, prayers, and the traditional art of storytelling and its links to contemporary works, in a selected survey of Southwestern Indigenous writers. The audience will gain an understanding and appreciation of indigenous literature and how some contemporary writers draw on the oral tradition and visual quality in language to write stories, poetry, and narratives. Short excerpts from works by the writers are also read and discussed so that the audience will understand the themes of these writers.
