The Blessing Way (1970)

This is the largest river in the Southwestern United States, and its headwaters are located in the state of Colorado at La Poudre Pass Lake. The Colorado runs through the U.S. states of Colorado, Utah, Arizona, and Nevada before crossing into Mexico on its way to Baja California. The Navajo name for the river is Nts’ósíkooh, meaning “Slim Water Canyon.” The Colorado River is considered female by the Navajo, and the location where the Colorado River is “mounted” by the (male) San Juan River, at what is now Lake Powell, is sacred to the Navajo.

This is a fictional wash on the Navajo reservation that Joe Leaphorn mentions in his letter to Bergen McKee in regards to reports of Navajo witchcraft in the area.

Located in the former Student Union, the University of New Mexico’s (UNM) Department of Anthropology is situated in an adobe building located on the western side of UNM’s central campus. The Anthropology Building was designed by famous architect John Gaw Meem in the Spanish- Pueblo Revival style in 1937, and served as UNM’s Student Union from 1937-1959. Upon completion of the new student union building in 1959, the Department of Anthropology and the Maxwell Museum of Anthropology moved from Scholes Hall to its present location. In 1972, the building was expanded to include the Museum annex and a patio. Currently, the building contains a museum, a number of labs, classrooms, offices, and the Clark Field Archive and Library.

Sandia Crest is the highest peak in the Sandia Mountain Range with an elevation of 10,678 ft. The Sandia Mountains are located east of the city of Albuquerque, New Mexico. This range is located within the Cibola National Forest and is composed of granite and limestone. The Sandia Crest is located on the western side of the range. Although the crest is populated with a large array of communications towers, the longest aerial tramway in the world carries visitors from the valley floor to a lodge and restaurant on the crest, providing them with extraordinary views along the way and as they take advantage of refreshments at the top.

A large plateau located in the northern quadrant of Nevada, approximately 60 miles from the eastern border between Nevada and Utah. The East Humboldt Range is a mountain range near the center of the Nevada Plateau. The topographic relief is characterized by mountains and valleys that dissect the plateau. These mountain ranges are strikingly similar geologically, with long ranges intersected by peaks at fairly regular distances.

Tsay-Begi, also known as Tse' Biyi, is an area located in Navajo County, Arizona. Tsé Biiʼ is a Navajo place name, which translates into English as "Rock Canyon." Tsé Biiʼ is a broad, sandy plain that lays east of Wetherill Mesa and northeast of Mitchell Mesa within Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park, also known as Tsé Biiʼ Ndzisgaii in Navajo.

Sometimes known as a .38 special, this caliber of gun can be found with either a revolving or a semi-automatic firing mechanism. In addition, the bullets fired from this gun can be either center-fired or rimmed. Center-fire cartridges are primed and struck in the center of the cartridge base, whereas rim-fire cartridges are primed and struck on the protruding rim on the base of the cartridge. Due to its minimal recoil, which is the reactive movement of a gun after firing, and its accuracy, the .38 caliber is a popular gun.

Vietnam is a country located in Southeast Asia and is bordered by China, Laos, and Cambodia. From 1859-1954 the country was colonized by the French government, and before the Vietnam War (1954-1975), Vietnam's capital city was known as Saigon. Saigon remained the capital of South Vietnam when the country divided as a result of the civil war that found the Cold War powers of China and the U.S. entering the fray to battle for Vietnam's strategic location. By April 20, 1975, Saigon was captured by the Communist North Vietnamese army. It was at this point that the city was renamed Ho Chi Minh City after the founder of the Indochina Communist Party, President, and Prime Minister of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. Even though the city's name officially remains Ho Chi Minh, it is still referred to colloquially as Saigon.

The primary Marine Corps base on the West Coast, located in San Diego, California. It was established in 1942 during World War II. This base was named after Major General Joseph Henry Pendleton and was originally built to be a temporary facility, but by the end of the war had been designated a permanent installation.

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.