Code Talker

Mr. Benally leads the children into a shed where older students are cutting the hair of all the new students. Ned explains to his grandchildren that in those days, long hair was considered sacred; cutting it short was believed to bring misfortune. Ned is first in line, and his hair is cut so quickly that it’s over before he understands what is happening. He feels like a sheep being sheared. From the other children’s faces, Ned sees that they, too, feel “naked and ashamed.”

After the haircuts, the children are made to take off their beautiful clothing and jewelry. Ned later learns that the precious family jewelry and ornaments are sold to white people. In place of their traditional clothes, the children are dressed in rough, itchy uniforms. When the children are reassembled outside, they all look nearly identical.

After that, the children are brought to a skinny white man named Mr. Reamer. Mr. Reamer tries to speak Navajo while Mr. Benally translates. He creates surnames for each child based on the name of his or her father, or sometimes assigns a historical name like Washington, Lincoln, or Jefferson. When it’s Ned’s turn, he tells Mr. Reamer that he is “the son of the One with a Gray Mustache.” Because Mr. Reamer doesn’t really understand the Navajo language, he hears Biye’—“son of”—as “Begay.” That’s how Ned and many other Navajo children of that era got the surname Begay. Mr. Reamer also gives him the name of his dead uncle, Ned.