Code Talker by Joseph Bruchac

First of all, I want to express my gratitude to the Navajo nation in general. Whenever I have visited Dinetah, I have always been treated by the Navajo people with such patient grace and good humor that it has made me feel as if I was a welcome guest. I wish I could list everyone by name who has helped and taught me over the years, but there's not enough space. Here are the names of those people I must mention.

Thanks to Shonto Begay, Rex Lee Jim, and Wilson Hunter for what you've taught me through your work and our all-too-brief conversations. Many thanks to Nia Francisco, Luci Tapahonso, and Laura Tohe, three Navajo women who are also among our country's finest poets. Your work has meant a great deal to me over the last two decades, inspiring and informing me, just as you have done for countless readers.