2008 Medal Tonto Apache Tribe Code Talkers Bronze 38mm

Coin Details

Description

This 38mm bronze medal honors the Tonto Apache Tribe Code Talkers, members of the Tonto Apache community of east-central Arizona who contributed their Athabaskan language to military communications. The Tonto Apache, part of the Western Apache group, speak a Southern Athabaskan language closely related to but distinct from the Navajo language that became the most famous of all code talker languages. The Tonto Apache's own Athabaskan dialect, while sharing the language family's characteristically complex tonal and verb systems, had enough distinctive vocabulary and phonological features to serve as an independent code language. The obverse features a design developed with the Tonto Apache Tribe, incorporating Apache cultural elements honoring their code talker veterans. The Apache peoples have one of the most formidable warrior traditions in North American history, with leaders like Cochise, Geronimo, and Victorio leading resistance campaigns that challenged the U.S. military for decades. The transition from resistance fighters to code talkers serving in the U.S. military represents one of the most remarkable transformations in the relationship between any Native American people and the federal government. The reverse carries Code Talkers program inscriptions. The Tonto Apache Tribe's Payson, Arizona reservation is one of the smallest in the United States, making their code talker contribution a particularly notable example of a small community's outsized impact on national defense.

Rarity Notes

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

Cross References

PCGS #910572; Code Talkers 2008; Tonto Apache Tribe; Southern Athabaskan language; Arizona