Zonnie M. Gorman        
Historian/Lecturer/Consultant
Growing Up With Heroes...
The Navajo Code Talkers of World War II:
          A Daughter's Journey

The Marine Navajo Code Talkers played a vital role
in the Pacific campaigns during World War II.  They
developed a code in their native language that baffled
the Japanese and helped win American victory in the
Pacific.  

In 1989 Zonnie Gorman embarked on a personal
journey to discover that part of her father who was
one of the original Navajo Code Talkers.  With a love
of history, her journey has led her through a lifetime
of research, interviews and archiving.

Zonnie shares a touching story about the Code Talkers,
and particularly about her father's role as one of the first
twenty-nine.  You will experience the Navajo reservation
of the 1940s, the U.S. Government policy of Assimilation
to eradicate indigenous languages and cultures and learn
how the code was made.  Zonnie's personal insights, well
researched information and wry humor combine to offer a
poignant, eye-opening and stirringly patriotic presentation.  

LECTURES:
∙Cal Poly Pomona, Pomona, CA, November 7, 2011
∙Museum of Northern Arizona, 62nd Annual Festival of Arts & Culture, August 6 & 7, 2011
∙Mid-America Orthopedic Association, 29th Annual Meeting, Tucson, AZ, April 5, 2011
∙Mashantucket Pequot Museum, Mashantucket, CT, October 23, 2010
∙John Carroll University, University Heights, OH, November 19, 2009
∙Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, Albuquerque, NM, November 11,2009
∙Victoria College, Victoria, TX, November 10, 2009
∙New Mexico State Fair, September 18 & 24, 2009
∙National Museum for the Preservation of Democracy, Los Angeles, CA, Bring the
Circle Together: A Native American Film Series, August 20, 2009
∙Lake Powell Museum, Page, AZ, March 26, 2009
∙Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA, March 19, 2009
∙Carriage Manor Resort, Mesa,AZ, March 4, 2008
∙Missouri State University, Springfield, MO, November 18, 2008
∙Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, Albuquerque, New Mexico, November 11, 2008
∙Northern Arizona University Elder Hostel – 1998-present
∙Belen Museum, Belen, NM, April 5, 2008
∙Arizona Lecture Series, Apache Junction, AZ, January 14, 2008        
∙Branigan Cultural Center, Las Cruces, NM, January 5, 2008
∙Radford University, Radford, VA, November 14, 2007
∙Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, March 3, 2007
∙University of South Carolina-Upstate, Spartanburg, SC, November 16, 2006
∙Cherokee Strip Land Rush Museum, Arkansas City, KS, November 4, 2006
∙Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, November 6, 2006
∙Alfred State College, Alfred, NY, November 2, 2006
∙Think First Navajo Fundraiser, Lenox, MA, September 29, 2006
∙Daniel Webster College, Nashua, NH, September 27, 2006        
∙Southern Methodist University, Taos, NM, June 6, 2006
∙18th Annual National Consortium on Racial and Ethnic Fairness in the Courts,
Albuquerque, NM, April 26, 2006
∙Western New Mexico University, Navajo Language class, 1/26 & 3/30, 2006
∙Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, Albuquerque, NM, Feb.18, 2006
∙Arizona Lecture Series, Apache Junction, AZ, January 2, 2006
∙University of Wisconsin - Platteville – 2003
∙Adams State College – 2002
∙Concordia College – 2002
∙North Dakota State University – 2002
∙Kansas State University – 2002
∙Virginia Tech University – 2002
∙Southern State Community College – 2002
∙Kutztown University – 2002
∙Hollins University – 2002
∙The Catholic University of America – 2002
∙North Dakota State University, 2002
∙Minnesota State University at Moorhead - 2002
∙Cayahoga Community College, 2002
∙Pinion and Sage Adult Learning Center, Gallup, NM, October 12, 1999
∙Navajo Youth Development, April 16, 1999
∙Museum of the American Indian, New York, Nov. 1996 (w/Carl Gorman)
∙Highlands University, Las Vegas, NM, Oct. 1995 (w/Carl Gorman)
∙Arizona Historical Society, Tucson, AZ, Feb. 15, 1995 (w/Carl Gorman)
∙National Aeronautics & Space Administration Headquarters
(N.A.S.A.),Washington, D.C., Nov. 3, 1994 (w/Carl Gorman)
∙Indiana University/Purdue University at Indianapolis (IUPUI), sponsored by
IUPUI Historical Society, April 18, 1994
∙Ganado High School, Nov. 17, 1993 (w/Carl Gorman)
∙SOL Program,Tucson, AZ, June 1993


Lectures & Film Presentation
∙First Annual Gallup Film Festival, Gallup, NM, Sept.1993
∙Window Rock High School, three sessions, Nov. 15, 1995


Workshops
∙Belen Museum, Docent Training, March 4, 2008


Publications
∙"Heroes from Navajoland", Inter-Tribal America 1991, Collector Edition Magazine.
Reprinted as "The Navajo Code Talkers, Heroes from Navajoland", Route 66
Magazine, Summer 1994


Exhibitions
∙Consultant; National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian Institute,
Washington, D.C. and the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service
(SITES), Consultant concerning Navajo Code Talkers and story of father, Carl
Gorman featured on supplemental educational website for “Native Words, Native
Warriors” traveling exhibition.  http://www.nmai.si.edu/education/codetalkers/
∙Consultant; Japanese American National Museum - National Center for the
Preservation of Democracy, Los Angeles, CA.  Exhibition: Fighting For
Democracy, 2005
∙Co-Curator: “Our Fathers, Our Grandfathers, Our Heroes…The Navajo Code Talkers
of WW II”, 2001 (traveling exhibition version, 2007)


Film/Video
∙Appearance as Navajo Code Talker Historian, Triage Entertainment Production –
Documentary (one hr), In Search of History: Navajo Code Talkers, A&E, 1998
∙Consultant for Triage Entertainment Production – Documentary
(one hr), In Search of History: Navajo Code Talkers, 1998
∙"Navajo Code Talkers: The First Twenty-Nine", 16 min., Co-producer & main
researcher.  Copyright 1992


ADDITIONAL
∙Administrative Services Officer II, Department of Human Resources, Navajo        
Nation, October-December 2001 - Hired to assist with development and
coordination of the Congressional Silver Medal Awards ceremony for the Navajo
Code Talkers, Saturday, November 24, 2001, and post-production.
∙Liaison/Coordinator, Gold Congressional Medal Ceremony, July 2001 - Served as
liaison for Senator Jeff Bingaman’s office between the Navajo Code Talkers
Association and the Navajo Nation.  Assisted in locating and coordinating first
twenty-nine Navajo Code Talker families to travel to Washington DC, July 25-27
to receive the Gold Congressional Medal.
Pfc. Carl Gorman at observation post on Saipan 1944
National Archives
Zonnie's Resume Related to
Navajo Code Talkers
Represented by
American Program Bureau
800.225.4575
www.apbspeakers.com


Universities/Educational
Institutions
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Museums/Other
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Have questions?
Email Zonnie Gorman