Do Not Erase
I have tried hard to limit my comments about the present political situation to points of theology and places where actions impinge on my flock. But I understand ‘flock’ to include congregations where I used to work…
The US Defense Department has removed from its website ten articles about the Navajo code-talkers who used the complexity of the language of the Diné (to which I can attest) in the aid of our nation’s battle against fascism in the Second World War. There was a code-talker within my congregation at Good Shepherd in Fort Defiance. We can be grateful to all veterans, and at the same time be appreciative of that particular contribution of Navajo Americans.
Classifying their story under the category ‘DEI’ as a pretext to erase this piece of history is foolish and mean-spirited. Remember, there is a longer history of suppressing the distinctive gifts of native culture which should not be repeated.
Revelation tells us that around the throne will be found every ‘family, language, people, and nation’ praising the Lamb, at the center. Among those worshipping will be the Navajo singing in the tonal mother-tongue of the code-talkers.
+GRS
