Coyote Canyon, New Mexico

    Article

    A canyon located in McKinley County, New Mexico. Its Anglicized name is based on the Navajo one, Mą'ii Tééh Yítłizhí, meaning "Where Coyote Fell Into Deep Water," which is based on a story of the spiritual being Coyote falling into a river after taking a drink of water. Coyote Canyon is one of the many chapters of the Navajo Nation, whose 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.

    Photo Credit

     
    "Sheep herd of M Chaviz, Coyote Canyon, New Mexico, 1900-1910," photograph, Palace of the Governors Photo Archives Collection (015139). Center for Southwest Research, University Libraries, University of New Mexico.

    References

     
    Bright, William
         2013    Native American Placenames of the Southwest: A Handbook for Travelers. Norman:
             University of Oklahoma Press.

    Coyote Canyon Chapter
         N.d.    Coyote Canyon Chapter. http://coyotecanyon.navajochapters.org/, accessed February
             16, 2015.

    Linford, Laurance D.
         2001   Tony Hillerman's Navajoland: Hideouts, Haunts, and Havens in the Joe Leaphorn
              and Jim Chee Mysteries. Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press.