A Navajo and NASA
About 1966 or so, a NASA team doing work for the Apollo moon mission
took the
astronauts near Tuba City. There the terrain of the Navajo Reservation
looks
very much like the lunar surface. Among all the trucks and large vehicles
were
two large figures that were dressed in full lunar spacesuits.
Nearby a Navajo sheep herder and his son were watching the strange creatures
walk about, occasionally being tended by other NASA personnel. The two
Navajo
people were noticed and approached by the NASA personnel.
Since the man did not know English, his son asked for him who the strange
creatures were. The NASA people told them that they were just men that
were
getting ready to go to the moon. The man became very excited and asked
if he
could send a message to the moon with the astronauts.
The NASA personnel thought this was a great idea so they rustled up
a tape
recorder. After the man gave them his message, they asked his son to
translate.
His son would not.
Later, they tried a few more people on the reservation to translate
and every
person they asked would chuckle and then refuse to translate.
Finally, with cash in hand someone translated the message, "Watch
out for
these guys, they come to take your land."
