The Blessing Way (1970)

A sheepherder protects and manages a group of sheep, especially during open grazing. In the 1500s, sheep were first brought by the Spanish to what later became known as the U.S. Southwest. By the 1700s, sheep herding had been adopted by the Navajo, and sheep become very important to the Navajo way of life. Sheep's wool is used to weave textiles, such as rugs and blankets, and the meat is a staple of the diet.

In general use, a tributary is a stream that flows into a river or a lake. For instance, the important Colorado river has many tributaries, such as the Little Colorado River, San Juan River, Santa Cruz River, and the San Pedro River. However, in Tony Hillerman's 1970 Navajo detective novel THE BLESSING WAY, the characters travel through a canyon system which includes smaller canyons (tributaries) branching off from a larger one.

Assault is a criminal charge that stems from a person knowingly threatening harm against another person. Assault can become aggravated assault when a weapon is involved or if the threat is intended to do more than scare the victim. An example of aggravated assault without a weapon, for example, occurs when an individual threatens a victim with the intent of robbing him or her. Aggravated assault is considered a felony.

A container generally made of either metal or plastic that carries liquids; often used when hiking or camping.

The essential but non-physical aspect of a living being, that which leaves the body after death. Depending on the context, "soul" can refer to the spirit, personality, consciousness, mind, or entirety of the being ("another poor soul," as Leaphorn refers to Horseman in Tony Hillerman's 1970 Navajo detective novel THE BLESSINGWAY).

A prestigious private university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard was the original institution in the U.S. Ivy League, a group of socially and academically elite institutions in the northeastern U.S. Harvard was also the first university founded in the U.S.

The Hard Flint Boys, also known as Beesh Ashiike in Navajo, as well as the Blue Flint Boys, comprise the seven stars in the Pleiades constellation. In Navajo mythology, the Hard Flint Boys were often underfoot and causing mischief in the presence of Black God. Black God would stamp his foot, causing the Flint Boys to clamber up to Black God’s shoulder and eventually his forehead, otherwise known as the night sky, where they eventually remained, thus demonstrating Black God's celestial powers.

The Hard Flint Boys assist the Navajo in regulating their planting schedule. When they disappear from the evening sky in mid-Spring, the Navajo know that it is time to begin planting.

A long and wide trench that cuts into soft rock or sediment. Gullies normally occur in areas where the ground surface has been exposed to fire, the effects of climate change, or human activity. Without plants, especially their root systems, rainfall can cause the sediment to erode as water moves swiftly over the surface of the earth and, via friction, removes particulate matter.

Gulf Oil was a U.S. oil company founded in 1907 and based in Port Arthur, Texas. The company was owned by the Mellon family until 1985, when it was subsumed under aegis of Standard Oil of California and re-branded to Chevron. The company had gas stations throughout the U.S. through 1985.

A six-stringed, wood-bodied instrument with a fretted neck. The basic guitar, which emerged from the confluence of Islamic and Greco-Roman musical traditions in the Iberian penninsula, developed into different types derived from a variety of cultural traditions, such as flamenco, mariachi, and eventually styles like American folk and rock-and-roll, each of which augmented the traditional guitar design to accommodate new playing pracitices, aesthetics, and desired sounds.