Diné College Interim Provost Dr. Alysa Landry Honored with Pablita Velarde Award for Outstanding Children’s Publication
25th July 2024
Tsaile, Ariz. – Dr. Alysa Landry, Interim Provost at Diné College, has been awarded the Pablita Velarde Award for an Outstanding Children’s Publication related to New Mexico or Southwest borderlands history. This award recognizes her outstanding work on the biography “Thomas H. Begay and the Navajo Code Talkers,” a captivating read composed for young readers.
The Pablita Velarde Award heralds the legacy of Pablita Velarde, known as “Tse Tsan” (Golden Dawn), in the Tewa language of her Santa Clara Pueblo home. An accomplished artist and storyteller, Velarde was trained at Dorothy Dunn’s Studio Art School at the Santa Fe Indian School. Her self-illustrated book, “Old Father Storyteller,” was first published by Thomain in 1960. Her artworks are held in various museums, notably at the Bandelier National Monument, and she was honored with numerous awards, including the Palmes Académiques Excellence in Art from the French government.
Landry’s award-winning book narrates the life of Thomas H. Begay, one of the young Navajo men who had a role during World War II by devising and using an unbreakable communication code based on the Diné language. This code was essential to the victory of the Allied forces in the Pacific. While the book includes anecdotes from other code talkers, it centers on Begay’s journey from his birth near the Navajo reservation, through his childhood in sheep herding, his youth in the boarding schools, to his enlistment in the US Marine Corps.
Drawing heavily from interviews with Begay—who, now in his late nineties, is one of only three surviving code talkers—Landry captures his voice and humor, making this biography meaningful. It is the only Code Talker biography for young readers told from the perspective of a soldier. Begay was deeply involved in the project, granting Landry unlimited access to his military documents, personal photos, and oral history. His family also contributed by reading and fact-checking the manuscript, ensuring the book’s accuracy and authenticity.
Landry’s background in journalism has equipped her to write engaging nonfiction and creative nonfiction, skillfully blending interviews, archival research, and other published accounts. This biography not only tells Begay’s story but also places it within the broader context of the other 429 code talkers who served during the war.
