People of Darkness (1980)

The "mile-high" capital and largest city in Colorado, Denver is located at the western end of the Great Plains, just east of the Rocky Mountains. Arapaho peoples inhabited the area until 1858, when the gold rush brought white settlers to the junction of Cherry Creek and the South Platte River, where the site of the future city was established. Denver was named after James W. Denver, the Kansas territorial governor at the time. In the 1860s, uprisings by Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes provoked the forced removal of Native Americans from the state of Colorado. The city's settler population grew steadily after the arrival of the railroad in the 1880s, with gold and silver mining, as well as farming and ranching, sustaining its economy.

Denver saw a few economic booms in the second half of the 20th century, with the development of the Cold War military industry in the 1950s, oil production in the 1970s, and tourism in the 1990s. Today, the city is a hub of high-tech industry and commerce. Its scenery, proximity to mountain parks and ski resorts, and relatively mild climate attract many tourists and outdoors enthusiasts.

An adjective used to describe behavior that is not considered proper, polite, tactful, or good taste. Similar to rudeness, to be impertinent is often a sign of disrespect, but whereas rudeness is often inexcusable, impertinence retains a youthful tang of a precocity that might one day be tempered with experience and maturity.

A U.S. state located in the northwestern region of the country. Idaho is bordered by Oregon and Washington to the west, Utah and Nevada to the South, Montana and Wyoming to the east, and the Canadian province of British Columbia to the north. The Rocky Mountains and many large rivers, lakes, and falls make Idaho a scenic state with a diverse climate. Before the arrival of European settlers in the 19th century, the state was occupied by the Nez Percé, Coeur d'Alène, and Shoshone Native Americans, among others, and evidence of human presence in the area goes back at least 14,500 years. French-Canadian trappers and American explorers passed through the region, and non-indigenous permanent settlements and military posts were established in the second half of the 1800s, with fur trade and mining operations providing a basis for commerce and industry. When Idaho gained its statehood in 1890 its economy shifted toward agriculture and timber, as well as tourism. Idaho is known as the "Gem State," due to the variety of gemstones that are abundant in the area including garnet, opal, jade, and agate. It is also often referred to as the "Potato State" since potatoes are one of the state's most popular crops.

A style of American music that originated in the rural parts of the South and the West, and was developed by white farmers and laborers, primarily English, Scottish, and Irish settlers who sang and played ballads and folk songs with persistent Celtic roots that were influenced in great part by African call-and-response harmonics and rhythms. A combination of "country," or Appalachian, musical tonalities with the lyrical thematics of the Western frontier, the term "country and western," later shortened to country western, was first coined in the 1940s, when recording studios aimed to market this style of music as something more attractive than "hillbilly music," the derogatory term for Appalachian hill country music by which it was known before reaching wider markets. Over the years, the new label was shortened to simply "country." Country music is characterized by its heavy reliance on strings, using guitar and fiddle as leading instruments, with melodies played over a rhythmic strumming of banjo or another guitar. During the golden years of country western music, the music and associated lyrics told realistic stories of hardship, poverty, and tragedy, and were often infused with a strong working class moral ethic and even some social critique. As the genre expanded, migrated to big cities, and became a global phenomenon, the music absorbed various influences such as blues, gospel, or swing jazz, and later on rock, pop, Latin, and rap stylings. Lyrics also changed to become more sentimental and focused on the individual rather than the collective.

Although there are many variations of the creation myth among the indigenous peoples of the Southwest, basic elements of the story are repeated and point to similar historical, spiritual, and ethical concepts. The Navajo origin story, for example, tells of the emergence of the mythological ancestors, the Insect People, from the First World, which was a dark and chaotic underworld. From that first world, the people journeyed through four more realms until they reached their mature existence on Earth as we know it now, which, depending on the version, is known as either the Fourth or the Fifth World. The tales of transitioning through the realms illustrate spiritual and moral development, which, according to the stories, is a search for order and peace that is usually triggered by conflict and misconduct. Above this present existence there is believed to be a Sixth world of perfect harmony.

Whether the current world is numbered the Fourth or the Fifth, in several indigenous traditions, the previous world is remembered as one without color,only black and white. In this last transitional realm before reaching the surface world, First Man and First Woman came into being, and the Insect People, with the help of the gods and the Kisani (Pueblo people) assumed their final human form and were taught how to farm, hunt, speak, and perform ceremonies. They lived in peace for a long time, but then quarrels arose and induced conflicts, hardships, and an eventual flood that destroyed life in the Fourth World and carried the People into the Fifth World. In the Fifth World, the present surface reality, the Dinehtah (the Navajo homeland) was created. The four sacred mountains were established (Mount Blanca in the east, Mount Taylor in the south, the San Francisco Peaks in the west, and Mount Hesperus in the north), and rain was made. Finally, light and color entered the world with the creation of the sun, the moon, and the stars.

In the Hopi tradition, the fourth world is representative of the world the Hopi live in today. Each of the previous worlds are below one another, going deeper into the ground. When the people emerged, they were given permission and guided by the deity Masaw, who had previously been the guardian of the underworld. Taiowa, the Creator, gave Masaw the chance to guard the fourth world after he had lost privileges of guarding the third. Masaw guided the people to their home in Oraibi on Third Mesa and gave them the gift of fire.

A steel alloy containing between 10-30 percent chromium, which has unusual heat and corrosion resistance qualities. Nickel, titanium, copper, or other elements may be added to the alloy to enhance strength and rust resistance of the final alloy. Stainless steel is used in the making of a variety of products such as machinery parts, cooking and kitchen appliances, cutlery, and medical instruments.

A room in a hospital where autopsies are performed on the bodies of dead persons. An autopsy is a post-death surgery and examination meant to determine the cause of death in cases where there is uncertainty in regard to the circumstances or conditions under which the person died. In some cases of terminal diseases, autopsies are used to study the characteristics of the disease and the extent of the changes it produced the body.

A wheeled hospital gurney, usually made of stainless steel, which is used for holding, examining, or transporting the bodies of dead people.

A tool used for making holes in hard materials. A drill has a narrow, protruding, spirally-groove end, or bit, which revolves while penetrating through solid substances, such as wood, metal, and stone. The holes created by drilling can vary in circumference and length according to the circumference and length of the sharp end of the drill, which can be changed according to need.

A large, fast U.S. road system that crosses state boundaries. The term refers specifically to express, or high-speed roads, constructed as a result of the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956, a law initiated by President Dwight D. Eisenhower, which authorized the building of a network of highways spanning 41,000 miles across the nation. Eisenhower, who was a leading army general before becoming president of the U.S., was determined to build such a network primarily for Cold War national security purposes. Cross-country expressways, he reasoned, would enable efficient transportation of military weapons and supplies, fast troop deployment, and easy evacuation of big cities should the need arise. The interstate system served other purposes as well, such as relieving traffic congestion and encouraging motor vehicle use and consumption during the post-World War Two boom of suburban development and associated conspicuous consumption associated with leisure time and travel in the U.S. Under the 1956 act, the Federal government was responsible for paying 90 percent of the cost of the project, with individual states contributing only 10 percent. The money for the construction work came mostly from an increased federal tax on gasoline. According to the terms of the act, the new high-speed freeways were designed to have at least four lanes, no traffic lights, and controlled access through overpasses and underpasses, rather than intersections.

The interstate system has had long lasting effects on the American landscape and lifestyle. It promoted automobile and gasoline consumption, and, despite the conveniences it offered, had many undesirable consequences. In many areas throughout the country, the construction of interstate freeways has raised environmental and social concerns. In the 1960s, activist groups organized in various large cities, after it was clear that the construction of freeways damaged neighborhoods, destroyed homes, displaced people, and severed communities. Protesting was successful in many cases, and activists managed to prevent interstates from going through a number of big cities such as San Francisco, New York City, Baltimore, New Orleans, and Washington D.C.