The Boy Who Made Dragonfly (1972)

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 mists from the Valley of Hot Waters drives the cold breath of the Ice God away, and the climate is pleasantly temperate for growing an abundance of corn. One year the Ice God fell asleep and no snow fell all winter. Bear, deer and hummingbird attempted to rouse the Ice God but were not successful. Spider managed to wake the Ice God. Upon rising, the Ice God rubbed his eyes and snow began to fall. When spider spins a web into the distant clouds, winter is sure to follow.

The fleshy parts of a hunted deer that can be consumed by humans. The term can sometimes also be applied to the meat of other game animals from the deer family, such as elk or moose.

A clan composes an interrelated social group whose connections derive from parentage and kinship affiliation, and is common to Indigenous social structures. Clan configurations develop and are expressed uniquely in different Native American groups, and each tribe is comprised of numerous clans. Clan names and identities often originate in the natural environment of the tribal nation's homeland, and reference place names, fauna and flora, as well as significant natural phenomenon. Clans structures entail significant mentoring and obligations to the children of one's sisters or brothers.

The Yellowwood Clan was one of the smaller Zuni clans, having only one household affiliation through the 1900s. The clan became extinct in 1975 due to the death of its last surviving member. The Yellowwood clan are also known as the evergreen-oak people and are called Ta'hluptsikwe in the Zuni or A'shiwi lanuage.

In traditional societies, a clan comprises an interrelated social group whose connections derive from parentage and kinship affiliations. Clan configurations develop and are expressed uniquely in different groups. In groups indigenous to the Americas, each unique group can be comprised of numerous clans. Clan names and identities often originate from the natural environment of the the group's homeland or seasonal hunting and camping grounds, and reference place names, fauna, and flora, as well as significant natural phenomena.

In the Zuni tradition, the Tobacco Clan is known as Anakwe, but tobacco clans can also be found among the Hopi, Tewa, and Diné societies as well. In Zuni society, the Koyemshi, ritual trickster figures, are chosen from four clans in annual rotation, including the Tobacco Clan. For the Hopi, the Tobacco Clan is, along with the Bear and Corn Clans, one of the three leading clans. During ceremonies, the Bear Clan brings sacred medicine, the Corn Clan brings corn, and the Tobacco Clan supplies the tobacco. Clan knowledge is sacred and protected, and particular stories are the proprietary accounts of particular clans or fraternities. It would be prohibited for the Badger Clan, for instance, to relay information regarding the symbolism and practices of the Tobacco Clan.

A doe is a female deer or goat. Prized for its soft comfort and warmth, doeskin is the rendered hide of the adult female deer worn for dress, stockings or moccasins. Dresses and jackets often include fringed decoration of doeskin, deerskin or buckskin and the hide could be sun-bleached to a creamy ivory.

In Native American social structures, a clan is an interrelated social group whose connections derive from parentage as well as kinship. Clan configurations develop and are expressed uniquely in different indigenous groups, and each tribe is comprised of numerous various clans. Clan names often originate in the natural environment of the tribe’s homeland, and refer to place names, fauna and flora, or significant natural phenomena.

The Badger Clan is one of the clans that make up the Hopi system of kinship. The name is probably a reference to the mammal that is commonly found across Southwestern parts of the U.S. and is considered one of the revered hunting animals according to Hopi lore. A clan by the same name also exists in the Zuni Pueblo.

A nomad has no place he or she calls home, and lives a pastoral lifestyle, moving with their community from one location to another. Nomadism is associated with a hunting and gathering lifestyle. This mobility is essential for communities living in areas with scarce resources like icy tundras.

An individual who is a follower of the Catholic faith, one of the three major branches of Christianity, with the other two being Eastern Orthodoxy and Protestantism. The Greek term “Catholic,” which originated in early Christianity, was first used in the 2nd century A.D. in reference to an orthodox view of the New Testament, one that advocated a literal approach to the scriptures. When the Roman Empire adopted Christianity as it official religion in the 4th century, The Roman Catholic Church developed a strict system of religious and political hierarchy headed by the Pope, who is considered the ultimate authority ruling over all the churches around the globe. Roman Catholicism was the unquestioned, prevailing faith across Europe throughout the middle Ages, and did not become a distinct entity until the rise of Protestantism in the 16th century. The split caused by the Protestant Reformation, which opposed and challenged the dogmatic rule of Catholicism, in effect created what is now perceived as two separate religions. With nearly 1.2 billion followers throughout the world, Catholicism is still the largest Christian denomination.

In general, a Catholic, or practitioner of the Roman Catholic faith, must subscribe to specific beliefs and adhere to the structural operations, rituals, and functions of the Church. Some of the core beliefs include the acceptance of Jesus Christ as a divine savior, the Church’s doctrine as the definitive truth as it was professed by Jesus in the 1st century, and transubstantiation—the belief that during the ritual of the Holy Sacrament the wine and bread consumed by the devotees actually become the blood and flesh of Jesus Christ. A severe observance to moral rules is also a central component of the religion. The confession of sins to an ordained priest is required as a regular practice, along with active worshiping by attending mass, reciting prayers, and promoting missionary initiatives.

Sun-Father or Father Sun is one of the first five beings of Zuni origin stories living above a layer of fog, and created by A'wonawilona, or the living sky that symbolizes the essence of breath, life and the container of all. A'wonawilona's most interior thoughts and ideas eventually manifested externally, and he appeared as he had imagined himself in the form of the Sun. As he appeared, darkness brightened with his light, and he filled the emptiness with great clouds of mist that thickened together and fell as water on the emerging vastness that was taking shape as the Earth. In this way, A'wonawilona became the Sun and created 'father-sky,' 'mother-moon,' and all living creatures.

Revered and prayed to in ceremony, Father Sun created human beings when impregnating bits of foam who became his sons. The sons split the earth with lightening arrows and, finding life four levels down, the sons emerged with the people into daylight and founded the place of their permanent abode, the middle place, Ha'wi-k'uh.

In the Navajo origin story, Sun is the father to the Hero Twins, Born of Water and Monster Slayer; their mother is Changing Woman. The Hero Twins leave their mother to find their father, and eventually the Sun sends them on their way, offering his instruction and support for the task ahead of them: killing monsters. By eliminating the monsters, the Hero twins help move the People into the next world.

Piñon or pine nuts are in fact not nuts but the seeds of the piñon pine tree, which is native to and common in the American Southwest. These seeds are edible and for centuries have provided and still continue to provide a reliable and nutritious source of food to the Native peoples of the area. Piñon nuts are especially abundant in the mountainous areas of New Mexico, Arizona, and Colorado. As pine cones burst open in the fall, the seeds fall to the ground and can be collected to be roasted, ground, or stored for the winter.