Come by if you can after the Ceremonial parade on Saturday, 10 August 2024! Artist meet and greet is from 1-4pm with Kenji. It’s at the old Amtrak station and museum upstairs. They do have an elevator if you are unable to walk up. 201 E. Historic Highway 66, Gallup, NM.
Kenji Featured in Japanese Newspapers
Kenji was featured in two Japanese newspapers in June 2024. Both feature Kenji’s work on the Navajo Code Talkers.
LA Times Today: One man is preserving the legacy of the code talkers, America’s secret weapon in WWII
Navajo code talkers were a secret weapon in America’s arsenal during World War II. Decades after the war, their contributions were still largely unknown outside of Navajo communities. A chance encounter between a Japanese photographer and a former code talker would help change that.
David Kelly is a special correspondent for the L.A. Times and he joined Lisa McRee with this remarkable story.
Watch the LA Times interview here.
LA Times Thank You
Thank you to the LA Times and writer, David Kelly, for the amazing story!! Thank you to everyone who has sent me e-mails and copies of the LA Times. Your support is so very much appreciated.
To get in touch with Kenji, fill out the contact form and he will get back to you as soon as he can.
To read the story, go here: https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2024-01-28/one-man-is-preserving-the-legacy-of-the-code-talkers-americas-secret-weapon-in-wwii
Kenji Donates Photograph to Gallup Diner
“Today (2/10/24), we donated one of my Navajo Code Talkers photographs to Jerry’s Cafe. They have been serving the people of Gallup, visitors and the Navajo people for many years. Food is tasty and service is great!” -Kenji
LA Times: One man is preserving the legacy of the code talkers, America’s secret weapon in WWII
WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. —
Kenji Kawano was hitchhiking on the Navajo Nation when Carl Gorman pulled over to give him a lift. During the drive, Kawano, then 23, explained that he’d arrived in the U.S. two years earlier with plans to travel the country taking pictures, hoping to build a portfolio that could land him a gig as a professional photographer.
“Where you from?” Gorman asked.
“Japan,” Kawano replied.
Then Gorman asked if Kawano had ever heard of the Navajo code talkers.
Story by: By David Kelly
Pictures That Speak, World Magazine
My photography story of the Navajo Code Talker project. August 12, 2023 issue of World Magazine, pages, 66-67.
Photos by KenjiandBazhnibah Kawano
Like the Waters We Rise
“My photograph from Dinnebito is published in ‘Like Waters We Rise’. It is a book/boxset of photos, posters, and objects of the climate justice movement.”
Newsy Article and Video Feature
https://www.newsy.com/stories/japanese-photographer-documents-navajo-code-talkers/
【ナバホ族】を撮り続けた写真家 Kenji Kawano YouTube video
NAVAJO CODE TALKER DAY - THROUGH THE LENS OF KENJI KAWANO 08.12.21
Navajo Nation OPVP Communications
2.32K subscribers
Enjoy this small video from Kenji Kawano, who has an photo gallery of the Navajo Code Talkers as the Navajo Nation prepares for the Navajo Code Talker Day on August 14, 2021.
Navajo Times 8.5.21
Bahznibah Navajo Times
Opening the eyes of the world: Photo exhibit offers Navajo Code Talkers story
I first met Kenji Kawano in 1976, young man who came to the Navajo Nation in search of an adventure and see the “Indians” known as Navajos.
Courtesy photo | Kenji Kawano
Kenji Kawano with Navajo Code Talker Alfred Peaches in 2007 in Winslow. Mr. Peaches is holding his official U.S. Marine Corps photograph. Kawano used a self-timer for this photo.
He was a rather peculiar young man, full of enthusiasm and somewhat intriguing.
He had come from Japan only a few years before I first met him. He did not speak much English but spoke as best he could.
Read the full story here.
Farmington Daily Times 8.14.21
Noel Lyn Smith Farmington Daily Times
See Navajo Code Talkers through the lens of Kenji Kawano at new Navajo Nation Museum exhibit
WINDOW ROCK, Arizona — Shirley Haswood got teary-eyed when she saw the photograph of her late father in the exhibit about the Navajo Code Talkers that opened this week at the Navajo Nation Museum here.
Standing next to the photo at the opening reception on Aug. 12, Haswood explained that she was an adult when she learned that her father, Johnny Alfred, was a code talker.
"We knew he was in the Marines, but he never told us, 'I'm a code talker," Haswood said.
Read the full story here.
Arizona Republic 8.13.21
Shondiin Silversmith Arizona Republic
How a chance meeting led a photographer to a life's work documenting Navajo Code Talkers
Kenji Kawano came to the Navajo Nation in 1974 with a plan to take some pictures of everyday life for Navajo people and then head back home to Japan.
He didn't know anything about Native Americans or the Navajo people and he couldn't speak English or Navajo, so it was hard for him to start taking photos.
But he didn't feel like he was far from home. Kawano said he was surprised at how similar Navajo and Japanese people look, especially the kids. That made him feel more at ease within the community.
Nearly 50 years later, he's still taking photos on Navajo land.
"I'm still here," said Kawano, now 72.
Read the full article here.
El Palacio Magazine
“When you do graphic design you stay in the office all day, but when you take pictures you go out and meet different people,” Kawano says. “So I bought a camera and started to go around the American bases like Yokota and Yokosuka because I wanted pictures of Americans.”
To continue reading the article, visit:
https://www.elpalacio.org/2020/08/native-tongues/
Monochrome
Kenji has recently been part of Monochrome, a kickstarter by his friend, Diego James Robles. You can check out the project here.
MONOCHROME VESTIMENTUM: Photography/Adventure Apparel
Monochrome Vestimentum is an ethical apparel company outfitting photographers, adventurers, and anybody seeking dynamic clothing.
Standing Rock
In early December, Kenji and Ruth went to photograph the people of Standing Rock and the current movement for #NODAPL #WaterIsLife. To see some of their photos, go here.
Fun With Social Media
Kenji was recently feautured in a video with Loren Anthony, called 'The Original Snapchat'. While Kenji does not currently have Snapchat, Loren was kind enough to give Kenji a little tutorial. To watch the videos, click on the links provided below:
TIME for Kids
Kenji and the Navajo Code Talkers were recently featured in a TIME for Kids publication. You can subscribe and view the article here.
NY Times LENS Blog Publication
'Lens is the photojournalism blog of The New York Times, presenting the finest and most interesting visual and multimedia reporting — photographs, videos and slide shows.
While a showcase for Times photographers, Lens also seeks to highlight the best work of other newspapers, magazines and news and picture agencies; in print, in books, in galleries, in museums and on the Web.'
- LENS
Kenji was chosen for this blog and was published today, June 25, 2015. With his second opening of his '40 Years with the Navajo', the timing was impecable. He is honored and thankful for this opportunity with the NY Times. Included with the article are 19 photographs that were selected by the staff.
Click on photo to go to the
and read Kenji's story.
