Caplin & Drysdale Celebrates Native American Heritage Month and Honors Our Veterans with Second Conversations with Caplin Event
Yesterday, Caplin & Drysdale’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee hosted their second Conversations with Caplin event entitled “Conversations with Caplin: Professor William Meadows on American Indian Code Talkers” in honor of Native American Heritage Month and Veterans Day.
During the virtual event the committee welcomed Professor Dr. Williams Meadows from the Missouri State University. Professor Meadows is an expert on WWI and WWII American Indian Code Talkers. He has written six books and several articles on the subject and has testified before the U.S. Senate (which lead to the passage of Code Talkers Recognition Act of 2008). Christopher Rizek moderated the conversation with Professor Meadows which covered what life was like for Native Americans around WWI and WWII, the militaries recruitment of Native Americans and Code Talkers, the development of the code using native languages, and Code Talkers lives during and after the war.
At the end of the event Victor Jaramillo, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee Chair, took a moment to thank the military service members within our own ranks. The firm thanks Member Elizabeth J. Stevens a former United States Navy, Lieutenant, Naval Cryptology Officer who was deployed on the USS Nimitz in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Member William D. Fournier a former United States Navy, Lieutenant, Nuclear Submarine Warfare Officer for their service.
As part of a broader diversity initiative the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee will be hosting more Conversations with Caplin programs in 2022. Please stay turned for future program announcements. If you are interesting in applying for our fellowship, please visit our Diversity and Inclusion page.
*Center image was sourced from the National Archives. Photograph of Navajo Indian Code Talkers Henry Bake and George Kirk, 12/1943 National Archives Identifier: 593415