People of Darkness (1980)

People of Darkness (1980)

valedictorian

A graduating student who achieves the highest grades in his/her class. This student usually gives a speech at the commencement ceremony at the end of a school year.

trough

In the context of landscapes and terrains, the term trough refers to an elongated, shallow groove between hills or raised rock formations.

semi-trailer rig

A large transport truck that consists of a tractor unit in the front onto which one or more wheeled freight trailers can be hitched. These trucks are called semi-trailer because the cargo units only have wheels in the back, and their front part must be attached to the towing tractor.

Chinle Sub-agency, Chinle, Arizona

The Navajo Nation is split into seven districts, each with a field station: Window Rock, Arizona (1), Shiprock, New Mexico (2), Crownpoint, New Mexico (3), Tuba City, Arizona (4), Chinle, Arizona (5), Kayenta, Arizona (6), and Dilkon, Arizona (7). The Chinle sub-agency is the fifth district and was founded after 1901. In 1949 when Window Rock was made into the main agency the Chinle agency was demoted to a sub-agency.

caliber

The diameter measurement of either a bullet or the internal width of a gun barrel. The caliber is usually measured in hundredths of an inch, for example .22, .38, and so on.

Navajo Nation

Although the Navajo Nation can in some senses refer to the Navajo Reservation as a territory, and in other senses to the Navajo as a people, the Navajo Nation is a specific reference to the governmental entity that engages with other nation-states in the management and negotiation of Navajo tribal sovereignty. In this sense, the Navajo Nation can incorporate elements of territorial sovereignty as well as the cultural bedrock comprised of Navajo traditional lifeways and language, but it is a distinct governing body that participates in the political, economic, educational, and social realms at a transnational, and sometimes international, level on behalf of the Navajo people.

On April 15, 1969, the Navajo tribal government officially rejected the U.S-designated assignation of "tribe" and self-identified as "nation." From that point forward, governing bodies such as the Navajo Tribal Police became the Navajo Nation Police

beauty

In the context in which Tony Hillerman tends to use the word "beauty," it refers to the Navajo concept of hózhǫ́, the state in which all living things are ordered, in balance, and walking in beauty. The opposite of hózhǫ́ is hóchxǫ́ǫ́, which refers to disorder and chaos in one’s life. In Hillerman's work, chaos and imbalance manifest as as physical or mental illness, infections of the body and soul contracted from contact with mainstream U.S. culture.

Wisconsin

A U.S. state located in the north-central part of the country, in the Great Lakes region, bordered by Lake Michigan in the east, Lake Superior in the north, and the Mississippi River in the west. Wisconsin was inhabited by Paleo-Indians as early as 10,000 BCE, in addition to various cultures who developed in the area over time. By the time of European contact in the 1600s, it was mostly Ioway, Ho-Chunk, and Menominee Native peoples who populated the area. Wisconsin is known as America's "dairyland," as it is the country's leading producer of cheese. Agriculture is one of the state's main economic sources, due to its rich soil deposits, the result of eons of glacial activity in the region, and high water table. Madison is Wisconsin's capital, and Milwaukee its largest city.

anesthetic

A substance used in medical procedures to paralyze sensory nerve endings and/or nerve fibers, thus producing loss of sensation. Anesthetic substances enable patients to undergo operations and other invasive procedures that involve severe pain. Local anesthesia is used to numb a specific, small part of the body, while general anesthesia, which is used in major surgeries, affects the whole body and induces a complete loss of consciousness.

acoustical tile

In many modern public buildings such as schools, libraries, and hospitals, the ceiling is constructed of acoustical tiles, which are modular panels suspended beneath the grids of pipes and air vents of the structural ceiling. These board panels have sound absorbing properties and are effective in reducing noise both from inside and outside the building.

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