Code talker
During World War II, Comanche soldiers created about 250 coded terms, while Navajo soldiers eventually developed more than 700 terms. Many terms were based on everyday things in the tribal communities such as animals, food, material items and descriptions. Examples of code terms include the Comanche terms for tank (“wakaree’e” or “turtle”) and telephone exchange (“puhihwi tekwapu kahni” or “metal talking house”); the Hopi terms for ship (“pa-a-ki-hu” or “houses on water”) and the M-1 rifle (mouth and one); and the Navajo term for grenade (“ni-ma-si” or “potatoes”). A 1941 edition of the journal “The Masterkey” reports that one of the tribes in the Chippewa and Oneida group developed terms based on the colors of military hat cords and other insignia, with the Native word for “blue” meaning infantry, “yellow” meaning cavalry and “red” for artillery. The Comanche even had a code name for Adolf Hitler—“Po’sa taiboo’” (Crazy White Man). Hopi, Meskwaki and Canadian Cree also had specially devised code terms, although the number is unknown.