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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 a trip to the moon.
>When his 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 loud and loudly but also refused to translate the elder's message to the moon.
>An official government translator was summoned. After he finally stopped laughing the translator relayed the message:
>"Watch out for these *******s. They have come to steal your land."
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