John Kinsel Navajo Code Talker Living History mov

Navajo Code Talker John Kinsel (Lukachukai, AZ)


This is a living history documentary by Diné College and Winona State University students who interviewed, researched, photographed and produced this film in the summer of 2010. In the Navajo tradition of oral storytelling, Navajo Code Talker John Kinsel from Lukachukai, Arizona shares his story.


Navajo oral histories have long preserved the Navajo culture, language and history of the Navajo people. These living history documentaries convey the richness of the Navajo culture and their people. Navajo Code Talker John Kinsel’s life history provides a snapshot in time as he recollects his life, the significance of family, the continuance of Navajo values as practiced in one’s life, the importance of preserving the Navajo culture and language along with his military service during World War II as a Navajo Code Talker.


This documentary film is archived at the college libraries of Diné College and Winona State University, the Navajo Nation Library, and are now archived at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of the American Indian. Diné College, the first tribally controlled college and Winona State University Mass Communication Department collaborated over six-years to compile these documentaries.