What is the theme in Code Talker: A Novel About the Navajo Marines of World War Two by Joseph Bruchac?

Cultural Pride is the main theme of the book. Ned Begay begins telling the story of how he became a Code Talker in World War II as a tale of how he won several medals during the war. However, as the novel begins to unfold, the reader can see where Ned is going with his story. Ned talks about how he was taught that being a Navajo, that speaking his language and participating in his cultural traditions, was a bad thing. Ned then talks about the discrimination he faced at the hands of the white man who assumed because Ned was an Indian, he was stupid.