Arrows

Arrows

THE FIRSTARROW Poloma was tossing her new ball high into the air when she discovered the first arrow in the forest. When her ball came down, it bounced off a tree trunk, hit a log, and came to rest at the base of a boulder. She was digging the ball out from the heavy undergrowth when she noticed the arrow. It was carved into the lower part of the massive rock.

Poloma grabbed her ball and raced home. Her grandfather was resting on the porch swing. His eyes were closed, and for a moment she wondered if she should wake him with the news. “ You've discovered something, " he said softly, when she was settled beside him. “ I can tell by the way you're fidgeting. " " I've found an arrow, Papa! " Poloma said. " And where is this arrow that excites you so much?" her grandfather asked. Poloma told her grandfather about the bouncing ball, the boulder, and the strange arrow carved into the rock.

" Do you think the arrow is a glyph like the ones in my code books?" Poloma asked. " Maybe it's a Mayan hieroglyphic. The Mayans used tiny pictures instead of words and letters. Maybe they carved that arrow, " Poloma guessed. Papa pulled himself out of the swing and smiled down at his granddaughter. “ That's an interesting idea, " he said. “ But I doubt the Mayans were carving rocks around here. The Mayans lived farther south, in Mexico and Central America. However, your arrow might be part of a code of some kind. “ Come on, " her grandfather said, “ I think we should visit this mysterious arrow. "

Poloma's grandfather knew a lot about codes. In fact, he had won a medal for his code work during World War I. Papa and other Native American Code Talkers had helped the United States and its allies win the war by sending secret messages. Poloma loved to hear the story of the Code Talkers, even though she had heard it many times before. She especially liked to hear about Mississippi Choctaw Code Talkers like her grandfather. As they made their way toward the boulder, Papa told Poloma how the Code Talkers sent messages that only other Code Talkers could interpret.

QUESTIONS “ We spoke into walkie-talkie radios, " he explained. " There was a Code Talker on each end, and we would only use Choctaw words that no one else could understand. Someone would give me the message that I was to pass on, and I would speak the words in Choctaw. If the enemy was listening in on the radio, they wouldn't be able to understand what we were saying. "