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When NASA was preparing for the Apollo Project, it took the astronauts
to
a Navajo reservation in Arizona for training.
One day, a Navajo elder and his son came across the space crew walking
among the rocks.
The elder, who spoke only Navajo, asked a question.
His son translated for the NASA people: "What are these guys in the big
suits doing?"
One of the astronauts said that they were practicing for a trip to the
moon.
When his son relayed this comment the Navajo elder got all excited and
asked if it would be possible to give to the astronauts a message to
deliver to the moon.
Recognizing a promotional opportunity when he saw one, a NASA official
accompanying the astronauts said, "Why certainly!" and told an
underling
to get a tape recorder.
The Navajo elder's comments into the microphone were brief. The NASA
official asked the son if he would translate what his father had said.
The son listened to the recording and laughed uproariously. But he
refused
to translate. So the NASA people took the tape to a nearby Navajo
village and played it for other members of the tribe. They too laughed
long and loudly but also refused to translate the elder's message to
the
moon.
Finally, an official government translator was summoned. After he
finally
stopped laughing the translator relayed the message: "Watch out for
these
assholes. They have come to steal your land."
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