Browse by Title: C
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Chief Narbona Narbona Primero was a greatly respected and wealthy Navajo man born in 1766 and killed in 1849 in a confrontation with the US Army. He was not technically a chief… |
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chief of police In military or paramilitary organizations, such as police departments, a hierarchical organization of personnel exists, often called the chain of command.… |
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Chief Priest of the Bow The Chief Priest of the Bow is a Zuni ceremonial group leader, a high-ranking member of the religious hierarchy, and the Society of the Bow is one of the many Zuni… |
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Chihuahua, Mexico 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… |
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chindi Also spelled chʼįį́dii in Navajo, a “chindi” is the spirit of a dead person. Navajos are taught to avoid contact with the dead or enclosed places, like a hogan, where… |
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chindi hogan In Navajo culture, when a person dies inside a hogan, the traditional Navajo house, it is believed that the person’s spirit, known as “chindi,” can remain trapped in… |
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Chinle High School, Chinle, Arizona The only high school in Chinle Unified School District, located in Chinle, Arizona on the Navajo Nation Reservation in northeastern Arizona. This is a reservation… |
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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,… |
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Chinle Valley, Arizona A north-south trending valley located in northeast Arizona on the Navajo Nation Reservation. The Chinle Valley is 65 miles long and is delineated by Chinle Wash.… |
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Chinle, Arizona A community located a mile west of the mouth of Canyon de Chelly on the Navajo reservation in northeastern Arizona. In Navajo, the place is known as Ch’ínílį or “Water… |
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chip The waste product of stone work that involves chipping away at a core of hard rock. People in cultural groups around the world have developed stone-working techniques… |
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Chowilawu Chowilawu, which means "terrible power," is a Hopi kachina that is considered invisible and so is not often represented by kachina dolls or seen in public. This kachina… |
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Chuska Range, Arizona and New Mexico The Chuska Mountain Range runs along the Arizona-New Mexico border and lays within Apache County in Arizona and McKinley and San Juan Counties in New Mexico. The Navajo… |
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cigaret A cigarette, often spelled cigaret in Tony Hillerman's mystery novels, is a small amount of finely cut dried tobacco rolled in small squares of thin paper into a… |
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cinder block Also known as concrete masonry units or cement blocks, cinder blocks are rectangular blocks made of concrete that are used in basic construction projects, such as wall… |
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cirrus clouds Cirrus clouds form high in the atmosphere and are blown into their characteristic wispy streamers by high winds aloft. Cirrus clouds signal a change in the weather in… |
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Citizens Band radio Citizens Band, or CB, radio is a short-distance radio system that does not require a license and can be used by individuals or businesses for various communication… |
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clan An interrelated social group, whose connections derive from parentage as well as kinship. For different indigenous groups, clan structures develop and are expressed… |
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clansman A European word and concept used to describe a member, often male, although the term is often considered gender neutral, of the same genetic or relational group.… |
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cliff The steep, vertical edge of a mountain, hill, or mesa. Cliffs expose the rock types and different earth sediments of the mountain, and can be created either by… |
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cliff dwelling The Anasazi, or Ancestral Puebloan peoples, of the southwestern regions of the United States often built their houses on the sides of canyon cliffs using natural rock… |
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Cloud-Swallower A giant creature from Zuni mythology that ate people, dead souls and thunderclouds beckoning rain. In the mythology, this monster devoured all the clouds that passed… |
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Coconino County, Arizona Located in northern Arizona, this county’s seat is in Flagstaff. The county encompasses Grand Canyon National Park as well as several Native reservations including… |
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Coconino Rim, Arizona The Coconino Rim is a common name for the rim of the southern portion of the Colorado Plateau in Arizona, within the Coconino National Forest. It is part of the… |
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coed The term, which is rarely in use these days, refers specifically to a female student at a co-educational institution such as a college or university with both male and… |