Choctaw Nation celebrates World War I Code Talkers
Published: 23 May 2025
By Kennedi Patterson
via the KTEN News television station (TX) website
Choctaw memorial Durant, OK
This sculpture created by Choctaw artist Jane Semple-Umsted, honoring the Choctaw code talkers of World War I, was unveiled at the Choctaw Cultural Center in Durant, Okla., on May 22, 2025.
As Memorial Day weekend approaches, the Choctaw Nation is placing a spotlight on the tribe’s contribution to one of the most notable wars in American history.
DURANT, Okla. (KTEN) — As Memorial Day weekend approaches, the Choctaw Nation is placing a spotlight on the tribe’s contribution to one of the most notable wars in American history.
Choctaw tribal members gathered in front of the nation’s cultural center on Thursday morning as a black cloth was lifted to reveal a new statue commemorating the bravery of their ancestors who stood on the front lines of World War I.
Those 19 young men would go one to be known as the Choctaw Code Talkers.
In the midst of the battlefield, these soldiers used their native language as a powerful tool to relay military orders that could not be decoded by the enemy.
“I think about our Code Talkers and what they stood for, and the sacrifices that they made,” said Chief Gary Batton. “Our Code Talkers were in boarding schools not long before this, where they were told not to use their language, and now they were able to use their language to end World War I.”
→ Read the entire article on the KTEN website.
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