The Dark Wind (1982)

Keams Canyon is a small community of about 300 people in a census designated area within the Hopi Reservation in Navajo County, Arizona. The name designates both the community as well as a nearby canyon, which features a channel that flows from Balakai Mesa to Polacca Wash. The location is named after the Keams brothers, who operated a trading post in the area in the late 1800s. It is called Lók'a'deeshjin in the Navajo language, which means "reeds extend in a black line." The Hopi call it Pongsikvi, which translates to "government community."

In the Dark Wind, Hillerman refers to this location as “Keans Canyon” and places the Joint Use Administration Office in the area, although it is actually located in Flagstaff, Arizona. However, the Hopi Indian Agency is located in Keams Canyon.

A small city founded in 1693 and located in the state of Nuevo Leon, in northeastern Mexico, near the border between Mexico and Texas. The city was founded around a spring, which is still a part of several parks and tourist attractions within the city. It is named after the revolutionary war hero, Padre Miguel Hidalgo, who issued the Grito de Dolores (Cry of Dolores in English) on September 16, 1810 that urged the people of Mexico to join in a rebellion against the corrupt condition of Spanish politics in the then colonial outpost of Mexico.

The city is referenced very briefly in Tony Hillerman's 1982 novel The Dark Wind as the starting place of a drug smuggling plot line involving a pilot from Chihuahua, Mexico. The drug trade between the U.S. and Mexico especially impacts the border states of both countries, which see the most conflict and violence.

Tse Chizzi Wash, or "Tsechi'izhi" in the Navajo language, is a small creek located approximately three miles from the base of Low Mountain in Navajo County, Arizona. In English the name means “rough rock.”

The largest state in Northern Mexico. Chihuahua shares borders with the U.S states of New Mexico and Texas. This state is known for its U.S. border-patrol presence and the Mexican drug cartel trade, which is largely based in Ciudad Juarez. The region’s border location is strategically and diplomatically significant to Mexico, especially after the signing of the 1994 North American Fair Trade Agreement (NAFTA) between the U.S., Mexico, and Canada. NAFTA lifted tax and trade restrictions on much of the trade between these nations, which brought some economic success to Chihuahua. The state has one of the fastest growing economies in Mexico based on its maquiladoras, or factory and assembly plants, which bring a lot of foreign manufacturing business into Mexico, though many of its laborers live in poverty.

A lot of rural conflict occurred between peasant factions in Chihuahua during the Mexican Revolution (1910-1920). To this day, tourists can visit one of the lead revolutionary figures, Pancho Villa's, mansion. The tourist industry also thrives off of Copper Canyon, a system of canyons larger than the United States’ Grand Canyon, inhabited by the Tarahumara Indigenous tribe and home to many scenic waterfalls. Before Spanish settlement, the geographic region was home to more than 200 Indigenous tribes, many of whom were killed-off over centuries of Spanish colonization. However, many Indigenous peoples still inhabit the area including the Tarahumara, Apache, Comanche, and Guarijio peoples.

The state's name allegedly comes from the Náhuatl language and means "dry, sandy place." A small breed of dog, the Chihuahua, is named after the region. The Chihuahuan desert is a diverse ecoregion; much of the rocks, and plant and animal life, are distinct to the area. The desert encompasses most of the state and also crosses into parts of Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas.

Little Black Spot Mountain (also known as Little Black Spot Mesa), is the peak of a mesa coming off of the larger Black Mesa in the Navajo Nation, Arizona. The mountain is a little over 7,000 feet tall and the closest town is Pinon, Arizona.

This relatively low elevation mountain is also the site of a census designation community. The mountain stands between First Mesa and Balakai Mesa, near Polacca Wash in Arizona. Not large enough to be considered a town, the location does include a Navajo Nation chapter house. The Navajo Nation government system consists of five agencies (Chinle, Crownpoint, Fort Defiance, Shiprock, and Tuba City) with several local chapters within each agency. Each chapter has an administrative meeting place known as the chapter house, where the community gathers to discuss a variety of issues concerning life on the reservation.

A trading post, which seemingly no longer exists, was also once located in the area. A trading post is an establishment where goods can be traded. It is also a social center where news and gossip are exchanged. Trading posts have been associated with American frontier culture since the seventeenth century. Over time, trading posts developed into a cultural institution at first funded and backed by empire, later by national interests, and most often by enterprising business men.

This relatively low elevation mountain is also the site of a census designation community. The mountain stands between First Mesa and Balakai Mesa, near Polacca Wash in Arizona. Not large enough to be considered a town, the location does include a Navajo Nation chapter house. The Navajo Nation government system consists of five agencies (Chinle, Crownpoint, Fort Defiance, Shiprock, and Tuba City) with several local chapters within each agency. Each chapter has an administrative meeting place known as the chapter house, where the community gathers to discuss a variety of issues concerning life on the reservation. A trading post, which seemingly no longer exists, was also once located in the area.

A 7,300 foot mountain peak that spans across the borders of the Apache and Navajo counties in Arizona. It sits to the southeast of Black Mesa and is important to the Navajo Blessingway ceremony. As opposed to the other Navajo (Diné) Chant Ways, which are used to effect a cure of a problem, the Blessingway (Hózhójí) is used to bless the "one sung over," to ensure good luck, good health, and blessings for everything that pertains to them. It is also thought of as being "for good hope." The Navajo also view Balakai Mesa as the feet of Pollen Mountain, when interpreted in human form.

Burnt Water, or Tó Díílidí in Navajo, is a sparsely populated area in Apache County, Arizona. This county has the most land designated to Native Reservations in the U.S. and includes the Navajo Nation Reservation, the Fort Apache Reservation, and the Zuni Reservation. A specific kind of Navajo woven rug has also been named after this place, which features bordered, geometric designs in pastel colors.

There was a trading post in this location until 1983. A trading post is an establishment where goods can be traded. It is also a social center where news and gossip are exchanged. Trading posts have been associated with American frontier culture since the seventeenth century. Over time, trading posts developed into a cultural institution at first funded and backed by empire, later by national interests, and most often by enterprising business men.

Third Mesa is one of three peninsular mesas located on the Hopi reservation in Arizona. These mesas project like fingers from the southern part of Black Mesa, and Third Mesa is located furthest to the west. Approximately 15 miles long and .5 to 5 miles wide, it contains the villages of Kykotsmovi (New Oraibi), Old Oraibi, Hotevilla, and Bacavi.