Navajo Indians who served as code talkers in World War II urged lawmakers in Phoenix on Monday to pass legislation honoring them, but a Hopi tribal leader sparked debate by saying Navajos weren’t the only code talkers.

“We want to be remembered significantly for helping the U.S. in its time of emergency,” Keith Little, a member of the Navajo Nation who served as a code talker in the Marine Corps, told the Senate Committee on Government.

Philip Quochytewa, a Hopi Tribal Council member and Vietnam veteran, told lawmakers that honoring just Navajos would overlook members of his and other tribes who he said served as code talkers throughout U.S. history.

Tucson Citizen