II 
110TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 4544 
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 
SEPTEMBER 25 (legislative day, SEPTEMBER 17), 2008 
Received 
AN ACT 
To require the issuance of medals to recognize the dedication 
and valor of Native American code talkers. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Code Talkers Recogni-
tion Act of 2008’’. 
SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 
The purpose of this Act is to require the issuance 
of medals to express the sense of the Congress that— 
(1) the service of Native American code talkers 
to the United States deserves immediate recognition 
for dedication and valor; and 
(2) honoring Native American code talkers is 
long overdue. 
SEC. 3. FINDINGS. 
The Congress finds the following: 
(1) When the United States entered World War 
I, Native Americans were not accorded the status of 
citizens of the United States. 
(2) Without regard to that lack of citizenship, 
members of Indian tribes and nations enlisted in the 
Armed Forces to fight on behalf of the United 
States. 
(3) The first reported use of Native American 
code talkers was on October 17, 1918. 
(4) Because the language used by the Choctaw 
code talkers in the transmission of information was 
not based on a European language or on a mathe-
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matical progression, the Germans were unable to un-
derstand any of the transmissions. 
(5) This use of Native American code talkers 
was the first time in modern warfare that such a 
transmission of messages in a native language was 
used for the purpose of confusing an enemy. 
(6) On December 7, 1941, Japan attacked 
Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and the Congress declared 
war the following day. 
(7) The Federal Government called on the Co-
manche Nation to support the military effort during 
World War II by recruiting and enlisting Comanche 
men to serve in the Army to develop a secret code 
based on the Comanche language. 
(8) The United States Army recruited approxi-
mately 50 Native Americans for special native lan-
guage communication assignments. 
(9) The United States Marine Corps recruited 
several hundred Navajos for duty in the Pacific re-
gion. 
(10) During World War II, the United States 
employed Native American code talkers who devel-
oped secret means of communication based on native 
languages and were critical to winning the war. 
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(11) To the frustration of the enemies of the 
United States, the code developed by the Native 
American code talkers proved to be unbreakable and 
was used extensively throughout the European the-
ater. 
(12) In 2001, the Congress and President Bush 
honored Navajo code talkers with congressional gold 
medals for the contributions of the code talkers to 
the United States Armed Forces as radio operators 
during World War II. 
(13) The heroic and dramatic contributions of 
Native American code talkers were instrumental in 
driving back Axis forces across the Pacific during 
World War II. 
(14) The Congress should provide to all Native 
American code talkers the recognition the code talk-
ers deserve for the contributions of the code talkers 
to United States victories in World War I and World 
War II. 
SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act, the following definitions shall apply: 
(1) CODE
TALKER.—The term ‘‘code talker’’ 
means a Native American who— 
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(A) served in the Armed Forces during a 
foreign conflict in which the United States was 
involved; and 
(B) transmitted (encoded and translated) 
secret coded messages for tactical military oper-
ations during World War I and World War II 
using their native tribal language (non-sponta-
neous communications) 
(2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 
the Secretary of the Treasury. 
SEC. 5. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDALS. 
(a) AWARD AUTHORIZATION.—The Speaker of the 
House of Representatives and the President pro tempore 
of the Senate shall make appropriate arrangements for the 
award, on behalf of the Congress, of gold medals of appro-
priate design in recognition of the service of Native Amer-
ican code talkers during World War I and World War II. 
(b) IDENTIFICATION
OF
RECIPIENTS.—The Sec-
retary, in consultation with the Secretary of Defense and 
the tribes, shall— 
(1) determine the identity, to the maximum ex-
tent practicable, of each Native American tribe that 
had a member of that tribe serve as a Native Amer-
ican code talker, with the exception of the Navajo 
Nation; 
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(2) include the name of each Native American 
tribe identified under subparagraph (A) on a list; 
and 
(3) provide the list, and any updates to the list, 
to the Smithsonian Institution for maintenance 
under section 5(c)(2). 
(c) DESIGN AND STRIKING OF MEDALS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall strike 
the gold medals awarded under subsection (a) with 
appropriate emblems, devices, and inscriptions, as 
determined by the Secretary. 
(2) DESIGNS
OF
MEDALS
EMBLEMATIC
OF 
TRIBAL AFFILIATION AND PARTICIPATION.—The de-
sign of a gold medal under paragraph (1) shall be 
emblematic of the participation of the code talkers 
of each recognized tribe. 
(3) TREATMENT.—Each medal struck pursuant 
to this subsection shall be considered to be a na-
tional medal for purposes of chapter 51 of title 31, 
United States Code. 
(d) ACTION
BY SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION.—The 
Smithsonian Institution— 
(1) shall accept and maintain such gold medals, 
and such silver duplicates of those medals, as recog-
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nized tribes elect to send to the Smithsonian Institu-
tion; 
(2) shall maintain the list developed under sec-
tion 6(1) of the names of Native American code 
talkers of each recognized tribe; and 
(3) is encouraged to create a standing exhibit 
for Native American code talkers or Native Amer-
ican veterans. 
SEC. 6. NATIVE AMERICAN CODE TALKERS. 
The Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of 
Defense and the tribes, shall— 
(1) with respect to tribes recognized as of the 
date of the enactment of this Act — 
(A) determine the identity, to the max-
imum extent practicable, of each Native Amer-
ican code talker of each recognized tribe with 
the exception of the Navajo Nation; 
(B) include the name of each Native Amer-
ican code talker identified under subparagraph 
(A) on a list, to be organized by recognized 
tribe; and 
(C) provide the list, and any updates to the 
list, to the Smithsonian Institution for mainte-
nance under section 5(d)(2); 
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(2) in the future, determine whether any Indian 
tribe that is not a recognized as of the date of the 
enactment of this Act, should be eligible to receive 
a gold medal under this Act; and 
(3) with consultation from the tribes listed in 
following subsection, examine the following specific 
tribes to determine the existence of Code Talkers: 
(A) Assiniboine. 
(B) Chippewa and Oneida. 
(C) Choctaw. 
(D) Comanche. 
(E) Cree. 
(F) Crow. 
(G) Hopi. 
(H) Kiowa. 
(I) Menominee. 
(J) Mississauga. 
(K) Muscogee. 
(L) Sac and Fox. 
(M) Sioux. 
SEC. 7. DUPLICATE MEDALS. 
(a) SILVER DUPLICATE MEDALS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall strike 
duplicates in silver of the gold medals struck under 
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section 5(b), to be awarded in accordance with para-
graph (2). 
(2) ELIGIBILITY FOR AWARD.— 
(A) IN
GENERAL.—A Native American 
shall be eligible to be awarded a silver duplicate 
medal struck under paragraph (1) in recogni-
tion of the service of Native American code 
talkers of the recognized tribe of the Native 
American, if the Native American served in the 
Armed Forces as a code talker in any foreign 
conflict in which the United States was involved 
during the 20th century. 
(B) DEATH
OF
CODE
TALKER.—In the 
event of the death of a Native American code 
talker who had not been awarded a silver dupli-
cate medal under this subsection, the Secretary 
may award a silver duplicate medal to the next 
of kin or other personal representative of the 
Native American code talker. 
(C) DETERMINATION.—Eligibility for an 
award under this subsection shall be determined 
by the Secretary in accordance with section 6. 
(b) BRONZE DUPLICATE MEDALS.—The Secretary 
may strike and sell duplicates in bronze of the gold medal 
struck pursuant to section 4 under such regulations as the 
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