Pentagon Restores Navajo Code Talkers Pages After Backlash

Pentagon Restores Navajo Code Talkers Pages After Backlash \ Newslooks \ Washington DC \ Mary Sidiqi \ Evening Edition \ The Pentagon restored webpages honoring Navajo Code Talkers after their removal triggered widespread condemnation. The deletion occurred during an automated sweep of DEI-related content following President Trump’s executive order. Tribal leaders emphasized these contributions are historical, not diversity-focused, and deserve permanent recognition.

Pentagon Restores Navajo Code Talkers Pages Quick Looks

• Pentagon reinstated Navajo Code Talkers webpages after tribal leaders protested.
• Pages were removed during a DEI-related content purge following Trump’s order.
• The Pentagon called the removals unintentional and corrected them promptly.
• Some pages mentioning Native American Heritage Month remain offline.
• Automated AI systems flagged content with keywords like “Navajo” for deletion.
• Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren ensured continued monitoring and communication.
• The Code Talkers helped the U.S. win WWII using a unique language-based code.
• Only two living Navajo Code Talkers remain: Peter MacDonald and Thomas H. Begay.
• Leaders stressed these historical contributions are not DEI, but American history.
• Other restored pages include tributes to Jackie Robinson and Japanese-American servicemen.

Deep Look

The Pentagon, facing backlash from Native American leaders and veteran communities, restored several webpages honoring the heroic contributions of Navajo Code Talkers and other Native American veterans. This move came after the content had been mistakenly removed during an automated purge of materials associated with diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.

The mass deletion occurred as part of compliance with former President Donald Trump’s executive order aimed at eliminating federal DEI programs. In the process, the Defense Department deleted thousands of pages that honored contributions from women and minority service members. Officials have since acknowledged that the removal of Navajo Code Talker content was not intentional but a mistake caused by an AI-driven review system targeting DEI content.

Pentagon press secretary John Ullyot addressed the situation, explaining that when content falls outside the intended scope of removal — either through error or oversight — departments are instructed to correct it. “We instruct the components and they correct the content so it recognizes our heroes for their dedicated service alongside their fellow Americans, period,” Ullyot stated.

Visitors to the Pentagon’s website on Tuesday encountered multiple “404 – Page not found” errors when trying to access pages dedicated to the Code Talkers. Some of these pages were restored by Wednesday, though content related to Native American Heritage Month remains inaccessible. Thousands of pages removed during the DEI sweep are still offline, raising concerns from other minority and veteran groups.

White House officials informed the Navajo Nation that the issue stemmed from an AI-powered content sweep that flagged the term “Navajo” along with other DEI-related indicators. Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren, who had sent a letter to the Defense Department demanding clarity, expressed relief at the restoration of the pages. “I want to assure the Navajo people that we remain in close communication with federal officials to ensure the legacy of our cherished Navajo Code Talkers is never erased from American and Navajo history,” Nygren said.

Nygren also emphasized that the 574 federally recognized tribes across the United States are sovereign nations, not merely categories under diversity initiatives — a sentiment echoed by other tribal leaders who voiced concerns to the Trump administration.

The legacy of the Navajo Code Talkers dates back to World War II when the U.S. Marine Corps initially recruited 29 Navajo men to develop a code using their unwritten language. Words for “red soil,” “war chief,” and “hummingbird” became part of a complex code with over 200 terms and an entire alphabet. For example, to say “send,” they would combine the Navajo words for “sheep, eyes, nose, and deer.”

Their role was critical during the Pacific campaigns between 1942 and 1945, transmitting thousands of secure messages about Japanese troop movements and battlefield tactics — none of which were ever deciphered by Japanese cryptologists. According to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian, Native American code talkers from over 20 tribes, including Choctaw, Cherokee, Osage, Chippewa, and Hopi, served with distinction during both World War I and World War II.

Among those most disturbed by the webpage removals was 96-year-old Peter MacDonald, one of only two living Navajo Code Talkers alongside Thomas H. Begay. Speaking from his home in Tuba City, Arizona, MacDonald stressed that their contributions had nothing to do with diversity politics. “That code became a very valuable weapon and not only saved hundreds of thousands of soldiers, but it also helped win the war in the Pacific,” he said.

A registered Republican and Trump supporter, MacDonald urged the current administration to distinguish between eliminating DEI programs and erasing historical content. “Communication from the Pentagon down to various military units should be taught or learn that this information is history, and you don’t want to hide history,” he warned.

The Pentagon has attempted to reassure the public that it remains committed to honoring servicemen and women of all backgrounds. Alongside the Navajo Code Talkers pages, the Defense Department recently restored tributes to Jackie Robinson, a baseball legend and civil rights figure who also served in the military. Other restored pages included honors for Black Medal of Honor recipients and Japanese American service members.

“Everyone at the Defense Department loves Jackie Robinson, as well as the Navajo Code Talkers, the Tuskegee Airmen, the Marines at Iwo Jima, and so many others — we salute them for their strong and in many cases heroic service to our country, full stop,” Ullyot added. “We do not view or highlight them through the prism of immutable characteristics, such as race, ethnicity, or sex.”

Michael Smith, whose father Samuel “Jesse” Smith Sr. was a Navajo Code Talker, voiced frustration over the removal. “I don’t know how taking Navajo Code Talkers off the Department of Defense website is saving the United States any money because that’s not consistent with the president’s order,” Smith said.

Governor Stephen Roe Lewis of the Gila River Indian Community also expressed concern, noting the disappearance of content honoring all Native American veterans, including Ira Hayes. Hayes, a member of the Gila River tribe, is one of the six Marines depicted in the iconic photograph of U.S. troops raising the flag during the Battle of Iwo Jima.

Even with the restoration of some content, tribal leaders and advocates remain uneasy, suggesting that the removals could signal deeper systemic issues. “The way it looks in the executive order, this language is skewed and made to sound like the diversity programs are the ones that are unethical,” Smith added.

As the Pentagon continues reviewing content removals, Native American communities and veteran groups remain vigilant in ensuring that historic contributions are preserved and protected — independent of shifting political trends or AI-driven filters.

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