Listening Woman (1978)

The Black Rain Chant is likely a fictional reference to a Navajo ceremonial. This chant might refer to one performed as a recreation of the story about Coyote stealing fire to make the People warm and Frog needing to put out the fire with a black rain.

A Navajo ceremonial refers to a number of different ceremonies performed by a singer or medicine man (called a hataałii in Navajo). Most ceremonials are used to cure a particular problem. Navajo cures are targeted at body, mind, and spirit, calling on the patient, his kin, singer, and divine people to restore his harmony with the world. Before a singer (often a man), is called, a hand trembler, or ndilniihii (often a woman), will diagnose the source of illness. Through prayer, concentration, and sprinkling of sacred pollen, her hand will tremble and pinpoint the cause, which then determines the proper ceremonial cure. Then a singer who knows the proper ceremony is called and preparations for the ceremonial are set in motion.

There are nearly one hundred Navajo chants of varying range and intricacy. Originating from the Creation Story, they are so nuanced and complex that a singer learns only one or two ceremonials, or sings, over many years of apprenticeship. Ceremonies can last anywhere from one to nine days and can include chants, songs, prayers, lectures, dances, sweat baths, prayer sticks, and sand paintings. In order for a ceremony to be effective, everything must be done as prescribed in the legends.

Black God (Haashchʼééshzhiní), sometimes referred to as Darkness to Be One by Tony Hillerman, is the god of fire and creator of the stars in Navajo mythology. Not all accounts credit him with the creation of the constellations, but all credit him with the creation of fire and light as found in the stars. As one story goes, when the Black God entered the hogan the Holy People noticed Pleiades, the Hard Flint Boys, attached to his ankle. When asked why the constellation was there the Black God stomped his feet and the stars leaped up his leg until they reached his head. After he did this impressive act, the Black God was allowed to place all the other constellations in the sky. However, while he completed this task Coyote came along and also wanted to place stars; he grabbed a handful of stars and threw them in the sky. This is why there are named constellations and other random non-clustered stars in the night sky.

A class offered for small groups of graduate students. Instead of conducting a lecture, the instructor facilitates an in-depth discussion that focuses on assigned readings or focused research topics. Because of the small number and advanced level of students involved, individual participation is an expectiation, both to demonstrate mastery of the subject at hand but also to hone critical thinking skills in an environment that encourages open discussion and debate.

A small settlement located on the Navajo Nation Reservation in northeastern Arizona, close to the New Mexico-Arizona state line. Window Rock, which was established in the 1930s as the base of the Navajo Central Agency, is the capital of the Navajo Nation. The Navajo Nation Council, the Navajo Nation Supreme Court, the headquarters of the Navajo Police, and various other administrative offices are all located in Window Rock. The town was named Window Rock after the adjacent sandstone arch of the same name, known in the Navajo language as Tségháhoodzání, which means “Perforated Rock.” The unique rock formation is one of the town's famous tourist attractions, along with the Navajo Nation Museum, the Tribal Zoological and Botanical Park, and the Navajo Code Talkers World War II Memorial.

Tuba City is located in Coconino County, Arizona on the southern edge of the Kaibito Plateau. This town is one of the largest communities on the Navajo Reservation but it also has a small Hopi population. During the 1870s, Mormons briefly resided in Tuba City. At that time, Mormons named the community after a Hopi headman named Tuvi, who converted to Mormonism. Mormons later sold the town, which they claimed to be their property, to the U.S. Indian Service (in later years known as the Bureau of Indian Affairs). Mormons had been encountering increasing levels of antagonism from the Navajo, the original inhabitants of the area, which may explain why the Mormons sold the town and left the area.

One Navajo word for Tuba City is Tö Naneesdizí, which means “Place of Water Rivulets,” referring to the irrigation ditches used by Mormons during their occupation.

Teec Nos Pos is a small community located six miles southeast of the Four Corners Monument in Apache County, Arizona. Teec Nos Pos has shifted north from its original location, closer to the Junction of U.S. Highway 160 and 64. The community is composed of a trading post, a chapter house, and a school. The Navajo name for this community is T’iis Názbad which means “cottonwoods in a circle.”

The state capital of New Mexico, Santa Fe (meaning “holy Faith” in Spanish) is the oldest capital in the United States. At an elevation of over 7000 feet, it is also the highest one. The city was founded in 1610 by Don Pedro de Peralta as the capital of the province of New Mexico under colonial Spanish rule. The lands surrounding the town were occupied by indigenous peoples for centuries before the arrival of the Spaniards, and in fact today’s downtown area sits atop at least two Pueblo ruins.

The city remained small and fairly provincial through the transition from Spanish, to Mexican, and then American rule, but in the early 20th century it established itself as a cultural hub that celebrated a mix of indigenous histories, Hispanic traditions, and modern American influences. The community of artists and writers who were attracted to the area, the most famous of which is the painter Georgia O’Keefe, contributed greatly to the city’s growth and development as a tourist destination.

Santa Fe’s economy has come to rely heavily of tourism, promoting a romantic, somewhat exotic image of a small city that boasts numerous attractions such as museums and art galleries, a historic plaza at the heart of downtown, old churches, Pueblo architecture, and high-end boutiques and restaurants. The upscale attractions, along with the area’s natural beauty, have attracted a wealthy population that has gradually displaced many of the city’s original residents. Today Santa Fe stands in stark contrast to the neighboring small towns and even the bigger city of Albuquerque, communities that struggle with stunted economic development and a lack of resources.

One of the longest mountain ranges in the world. The range begins at Poncha Pass in Colorado and extends 204 miles south to Glorieta Pass near Santa Fe, New Mexico. The Spanish explorer Antonio Valverde y Cosio named the mountain range “Blood of Christ” in Spanish, remarking on its red color at sunrise. Blanca Peak is the highest point of the range, reaching over 14,000 feet. The headstreams of the Pecos and Canadian rivers begin in the mountain range. The range is a part of San Isabel, Rio Grande, Carson, and Santa Fe national forests and includes a number of national monuments. The mountains are popular among tourists and have also been exploited by the mining industry.

Oklahoma is a Choctaw Indian word that means “red people” and is derived from the words for people (okla) and red (humma). Currently, 39 individual tribes have their headquarters in Oklahoma including the Apaches, the Cherokee Nation, the Comanche Nation, the Kiowa, and the Seminoles, many of whose original homelands are long distances from this region. In 1803, the land that became Oklahoma was added to the U.S. as part of the Louisiana Purchase. Before statehood, these lands were used as relocation territory under Indian Removal Act, 30 tribes were relocated, and the region became known as "Indian territory." After statehood in 1907, the U.S. government recaptured the territories previously assigned to relocated indigenous groups. Oklahoma is a major producer of natural gas, oil, and agricultural goods for the rest of the United States. In 1995, Oklahoma City, the state capital and most populated city in the state was the site of a fatal domestic terrorist act orchestrated by Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols. The Oklahoma City bombings made international news when 168 people were killed and 680 others wounded at the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building.

Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park, called Tse'Bii'Ndzisgaii in Navajo, is a Tribal Park located within the Navajo Reservation on the Arizona-Utah border near the Four Corners area. The park covers an area of the Colorado Plateau featuring clusters of immense sandstone buttes that tower over the landscape at heights reaching from 400 to 1,000 feet. A sacred area to various indigenous groups, Monument Valley's impressive geological formations, isolated mesas, and sandstone pillars have also been used extensively as scenery in movies, commercials, and music videos since the 1930s, becoming the iconic representation of the Southwest.