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OPINION: Digital Erasure: How the federal government is diminishing New Mexico’s history
Twenty-nine Navajo recruits, about to be trained as code talkers, arrive at Fort Wingate in April 1942.
The recent removal of the history of the Navajo Code Talkers from the Department of Defense’s website has me reflecting on how crucial these websites are for the teaching of American history to New Mexico’s students.
As a long-time supporter of National History Day, I’ve witnessed firsthand how access to federal government websites featuring biographies of diverse Americans transforms students’ understanding of our nation’s past. These digital archives — maintained by agencies like the National Park Service, Department of the Interior, Library of Congress and National Archives — have become indispensable gateways for students exploring stories that textbooks omit. The recent removal of profiles highlighting women, Native Americans, Hispanics and African Americans actively erases New Mexico’s contributions to American society.
National History Day competitions challenge students to conduct original historical research, often leading New Mexican participants to explore figures from their own communities. A student from Las Cruces might investigate Fabiola Cabeza de Baca Gilbert, whose agricultural extension work, and cookbook “Historic Cookery” preserved traditional Hispanic foodways while introducing them to wider American culture. Another from Gallup might research Annie Dodge Wauneka, the Navajo public health advocate whose tuberculosis prevention work earned her the Presidential Medal of Freedom. When federal websites remove such profiles, they communicate that these figures — and by extension, New Mexico’s complex history — are footnotes rather than central chapters in the American story.
The consequences extend beyond research. When a Mescalero Apache student cannot find information about Wendell Chino, whose advocacy transformed tribal sovereignty, or when a student from Taos searches in vain for details on María Martínez, whose pottery innovations revolutionized Native American art, they receive a clear message about whose achievements merit preservation. This digital erasure reinforces historical invisibility when technology should be democratizing access to our shared past.
Federal websites have been particularly valuable for documenting New Mexico’s unique histories — stories of Hispanic women like Nina Otero-Warren, who fought for suffrage while preserving cultural traditions; of Pueblo leaders who maintained Indigenous governance systems while navigating American citizenship; of former slaves and African American settlers who established communities like Blackdom. A single biography of Po’pay, who led the 1680 Pueblo Revolt — the first successful revolution against European colonizers in North America — might inspire dozens of National History Day projects that help students understand resistance and preservation.
For rural New Mexican students with limited access to university libraries, these websites have been equalizers, allowing participation in National History Day competitions regardless of location. The removal of diverse histories disproportionately affects rural communities, where internet access might be available but transportation to major research libraries is not.
What message do we send when the Navajo Code Talkers, whose unbreakable communications system helped secure Allied victory in World War II, disappear from government websites? We communicate that despite New Mexico’s 1912 statehood, its people remain somehow peripheral to American identity.
As the 2025 statewide National History Day competition approaches, students all across New Mexico have explored the past through this year’s theme, “Rights & Responsibilities In History” and will present their research this April. Their search into the past deserves better than to be met with the words: “This item might not exist or is no longer available.”
These digital resources have allowed students to discover how New Mexico’s diverse populations contributed to civil rights movements, scientific advancements, artistic innovations and environmental conservation long before these became national priorities. Each New Mexican must insist on federal platforms that reflect the historical reality of all Americans. Our students — and our shared national identity — depend on it.
