2008 Medal Meskwaki Nation Code Talkers Bronze 38mm

Coin Details

Description

This 38mm bronze medal honors the Meskwaki (Fox) Nation Code Talkers, members of the Meskwaki Settlement in Tama, Iowa, who used their Algonquian language for military communications. The Meskwaki are unique among federally recognized tribes in that they purchased their own land in Iowa rather than being assigned a reservation by the government, reflecting a fierce independence that extends to their military service. Meskwaki code talkers in World War II used the Fox language to transmit messages that enemy forces could not decipher. The obverse features a design incorporating Meskwaki cultural elements, honoring the tribe's code talker veterans and their unique heritage. The Meskwaki (Fox) language is part of the Algonquian language family but has distinctive features that set it apart from more widely studied Algonquian languages like Ojibwe or Cree. The Meskwaki's history of armed resistance to forced removal, their self-purchased homeland in Iowa, and their continued cultural independence provide context for understanding their code talker service as one expression of a broader tradition of active self-determination. The reverse carries Code Talkers program inscriptions. The Meskwaki Settlement in Tama County, Iowa, is the only tribally-purchased land base in the United States, a distinction that reflects the Meskwaki people's determination to control their own destiny — a determination that their code talker veterans expressed through military service.

Rarity Notes

Bronze duplicate medal, 38mm. Code Talkers Recognition Act of 2008 series.

Cross References

PCGS #910571; Code Talkers 2008; Meskwaki (Fox) Nation; Tama, Iowa; Algonquian language