2008 Medal Seminole Nation Code Talkers Bronze 38mm

Coin Details

Description

This 38mm bronze medal honors the Seminole Nation Code Talkers, members of the Seminole people who used their Muskogean language for military communications. The Seminole Nation of Oklahoma descends from the Seminole people of Florida, who fought three wars against the United States in the nineteenth century before a portion of the tribe was removed to Indian Territory. The Seminole's warrior tradition, forged in the swamps of Florida where they resisted removal longer and more effectively than any other southeastern tribe, provided the cultural foundation for their code talker service. The obverse features a design reflecting Seminole cultural heritage, developed in collaboration with the tribe. The Seminole language, part of the Muskogean language family, has two primary varieties — Mikasuki and Creek Seminole — both of which offered cryptographic potential for military communications. The Seminole's history of unconquered resistance in the Seminole Wars, particularly the legendary guerrilla campaigns waged in the Everglades, established a warrior ethos that the code talker veterans carried into the modern battlefield. The reverse carries Code Talkers program inscriptions. The Seminole Nation's status as the only Native American tribe that never signed a peace treaty with the United States (prior to a 1962 agreement) gives particular significance to their voluntary military service, representing a complex and nuanced relationship between the Seminole people and the American government that the code talker recognition helps to honor.

Rarity Notes

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

Cross References

PCGS #910573; Code Talkers 2008; Seminole Nation; Muskogean language; Oklahoma