Browse by Title: I

A wild goat population whose natural habitat is in mountain ranges in parts of Africa, the Middle East, Europe, and Asia. The ibex is famous for its hardiness and...

"Ice Age" refers to the Pleistocene epoch, which ended between 13,000 - 9,000 years ago. He Pleisticene epoch was the most recent period during which the Northern...

According to Zuni cosmology, the Ice God lives in the Sacred Mountains and is responsible for the snow that will provide spring melt for crop growth. However, the warm...

A U.S. state located in the northwestern region of the country. Idaho is bordered by Oregon and Washington to the west, Utah and Nevada to the South, Montana and...

Igneous rock occurs both above and below the earth's surface. Intrusive igneous rock forms under the earth's surface when magma cools and hardens. As a result of its...

A medium-sized antelope found in the savanna and woodland habitats of eastern and southern Africa. Impalas move in big herds as a strategy of protection against...

An adjective used to describe behavior that is not considered proper, polite, tactful, or good taste. Similar to rudeness, to be impertinent is often a sign of...

A historically incorrect but contemporaneously common method of referring to the indigenous peoples of the Americas. Believing, or hoping, that they had stumbled upon...

Tony Hillerman's use of the term Indian country throughout his Navajo detective series is suggestive more of a concept and a state of mind than a specific territorial...

A hospital under the jurisdiction of the Indian Health Service (HIS), a division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Indian Health Service was...

Also known as the American Indian wars. The term describes a series of intermittent conflicts involving the native peoples of North America and the European settlers or...

An adjective that suggests that something is inevitable, creating a feeling that an event is about to happen and that nothing will be able to stop it.

To formally, if not ritually, bring an individual into a specific group or organization. The initiation process can be triggered by coming of age and reaching a...

A large, fast U.S. road system that crosses state boundaries. The term refers specifically to express, or high-speed roads, constructed as a result of the Federal Aid...

A major U.S. highway that runs mostly north-south, following the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains and crossing Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico. Part of the National...

One of the most iconic interstates in the U.S, this route followed and ultimately replaced Route 66. I-40 connects the primary urban areas mentioned in Tony Hillerman's...

Intravenous is a medical term referring to entering the body through a vein. In hospital settings, patients who are severely dehydrated or who have have difficulty...

Smooth muscle tissue, usually associated with organ function, that an individual does not consciously choose to use. Instead, the operates, or performs its function...

The muscle surrounding the pupil of the eye, which gives the eye its color.

A colloquial term referring to a medical device known as the negative pressure ventilator. The device is a large metal tank that can accommodate a human body,...

A canal or ditch dug near a water source, such as a river, to artificially control and direct water flow toward or away from nearby agricultural lands. These canals are...