People of Darkness (1980)

One of the four mountains sacred to the Navajo Nation, known in modern times as Mount Taylor, located just northeast of present day Grants, New Mexico. In the Navajo creation myth, First Man buried turquoise in this mountain range, hence its symbolic color is blue. It features as a significant location for Blessingway and Enemyway ceremonies. According to Navajo legend, the chief of the Enemy Gods, Yé'iitsoh, once resided in the mountain. When the Twin War Gods (Born for Water and Monster Slayer, sons of Changing Woman) killed Yé'iitsoh, his blood spilled down the slopes and hardened into the lava flows of El Malpais, in the area surrounding Grants. The mountain is part of a cultural landscape of great significance to all indigenous groups in the region, including the Navajo Nation and the Pueblos of Acoma, Hopi, Laguna, and Zuni. In 2008, these five groups entered a petition to have Mount Taylor be designated a Traditional Cultural Property (TCP). In February 2014, 400,000 acres including and surrounding Mount Taylor were successfully designated a Traditional Cultural Property in a landmark case with national and international significance regarding the identification and (limited) protection of culturally significant landscapes.

A telescope is a magnification tool used to visually enlarge objects. "Telescopic" refers to the ability of a device to visually enlarge objects. A telescopic sight, for example is a small telescope mounted on a firearm in order to increase accuracy of aim, often referred to simply as a “scope.”

Telescopic also refers to the mechanical ability of a device to extend or contract in length. Some ladders are telescopic, for example, and can be raised or lowered in height as necessary.

A police force maintained by a U.S. state and responsible for the territoriality of that particular state. The state police force has a higher jurisdiction than the subsidiary forces such as the county, city, or tribal nation police. State police jurisdiction includes highway safety, the safety and security of the state capitol and associated personal, and assistance during multijurisdictional investigations concerning regional crimes or emergencies. However, state police may at times be answerable to a sheriff or chief of police from a county, city, or tribal force, especially in terms of public safety, statewide transportation issues, and protection of natural resources.

A leading U.S. supermarket chain with stores all over the U.S. as well as in a few countries abroad. The company started with a small grocery store in American Falls, Idaho in 1915. The store was named Skaggs, after its founder S.M. Skaggs, whose commercial philosophy was grounded in low profit margins to attract customers and gradually increase sales volume. This operating strategy was maintained through the company's gradual expansion and its various name changes and still characterizes today's Safeway as a multinational corporation. As of 2014, the chain had 1,3335 stores in the U.S. and 195 in Mexico. In the past, it also had stores in Canada, Australia, and Jordan.

Although there are a few bars and taverns along Route 66 (formerly Railroad Avenue) in Gallup, NM, there is no evidence that a place by that name currently exists. The Turquoise Tavern could be either a reference to a place that has closed down or changed name and ownership over the years, or it might be a fictional establishment invented by Tony Hillerman.

A small village located in central New Mexico, just northeast of Grants, about 100 miles west of Albuquerque. Prior to becoming known as the "Uranium Capital of the World" during the second half of the twentieth century, San Mateo was a small Hispanic village located near the western flanks of Mt. Taylor. Settled during the sixteenth century, San Mateo became a religious center for the remote and sparsely-settled area. Members of the Penitente Brotherhood practiced in San Mateo, as evinced by the small morada (temple of worship), located near the town. San Mateo lies in the heart of the Grants mineral belt, an expanse of land extending west from Albuquerque toward the New Mexico-Arizona border, where extensive uranium mining was in operation from the early 1950s to the late 1990s.

An idiomatic phrase, equivalent to the phrase "as the crow flies," which refers to the shortest distance between two places, a linear transect that avoids meandering turns and inconvenient detours often associated with following roads.

Spelled "Kerrmac" in Hillerman's 1980 novel THE PEOPLE OF DARKNESS, the Kermac Nuclear Fuels Corporation, was one of several national mining companies that invested in uranium extraction and processing in New Mexico between the 1950s and the 1990s. A partner company of Kerr-McGee Oil Industries, Inc., Anderson Development Corp., and Pacific Uranium Mines Co., Kermac was a major employer in the Grants mineral belt in west-central New Mexico. Its large mill at Ambrosia Lake started operating in 1958. In 1983 uranium mining stopped, but uranium was still produced from water in underground existing mines. The mill closed down in 2002.

Similar to a capacious envelope, a billfold, sometimes referred to as a wallet, is usually made of leather or other pliable yet durable material and is designed to carry paper money and credit cards. Billfolds are usually small enough to be shoved in a back pocket of a pair of jeans.

Also known as the American Indian wars. The term describes a series of intermittent conflicts involving the native peoples of North America and the European settlers or the federal government between the years 1622-1924. Most of the fighting was the result of expansionist practices on the part of European settlers and the American government. Inter-tribal rivalries among Native Americans and competitive claims to the land among European nations added to the tension and the ongoing struggles. Due to uneven warfare technologies and organizational powers, the European settlers, and later the U.S. government, often had the upper hand in these wars, and the fighting, relocation, and removal ultimately led to a devastating loss of indigenous lives and lands, and the destruction of their cultures, languages, and traditions.