People of Darkness (1980)

Also known as Diné Bizaad, part of the the Apachean subgroup of the Athabaskan branch of the Na-Dené language family. Diné means “the people” or “children of the holy people,” and so the language is that of the people. The language is unique in its nasalization of some vowels, its use of glottal stops and releases, and its reliance on tone to signify meaning.

The Navajo, also known by their preferred name, the Diné, are the largest federally recognized Native American tribe in the United States. Their reservation is spread out throughout the Four Corners region of the American Southwest, and includes portions of the states of Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah.

The Navajo base their way of life on a belief that the physical and spiritual world blend together and everything on earth is alive, related, and in equilibrium, also known as ho′zho′. In this light, the Navajo observe two primary ceremonials, among many others. The first is the Blessing Way, which keeps them on the path of wisdom and happiness. The second is the Enemy Way, which is meant to discourage evil spirits, eliminate ghosts, and cleanse an individual of elements or affects that have placed her or him out of balance.

An academic field that is dedicated to the study of the history, geography, literature, politics, and culture of indigenous people in the Americas, with a particular emphasis on contemporary issues of identity and sovereignty. Native American studies grew out of the American Indian Movement of the 1960s, which, along with the broader Civil Rights Movement, protested racial discrimination, dispossession, and forced assimilation. In the 1970s, the first meeting of American Indian scholars at Princeton University set the formal parameters for the new academic field, focusing on indigenous rights and centering traditional knowledge grounded in oral history and Native philosophy.

Formed in 1918 as a Pan-Indian movement and in response to government abuses and relocations, the Native American Church synthesized Christian beliefs with the sacramental use of peyote, a small, spineless cactus that grows primarily in Texas and Mexico. Although using peyote for ceremonial purposes occurred in many tribes prior to the organzation of the Church, the Native American Church is the first, large organized ceremonial establishment to occur across tribal differences. The Church still exists today despite U.S. legal objection to the use of peyote, which is classified as an illegal drug.

Services usually take place on weekends, but there is no set schedule. Some groups hold ceremonies monthly while others are more spontaneous. Peyote is psychoactive and so members often have visions, but it is the community experience of these effects that gives the ceremony spiritual power.

A mortuary, sometimes referred to as a funeral home, is a funeral service agency that specializes in planning and conducting burials, cremations, and memorial services. This includes preparing the body of the deceased for the funeral, helping the family choose a casket or an urn, as well guiding the selection of music and flowers, and arranging transportation to the cemetery.

Also called a medicine bundle, a medicine pouch is a traditional Native American container for various items that have totemic, spiritual, or supernatural power. The Navajo word for medicine pouch is jish, which is not only a container for ceremonial goods but also describes the ceremonial goods themselves. Medicine pouches often contain pollen, which is used in rituals and chants.

The meat from a mature sheep. Mutton stew and roast mutton are today main staples of the Navajo diet. Sheep were introduced into the Americas by the Spanish in the sixteenth century, along with horses and cattle. During this time the Navajo traded and raided for sheep from the Spanish. Sheep became a major part of their economy, and, also, their diet.

Mule deer are easy to identify due to their large mule-like ears. They are brownish-gray in color, have a white rump patch, and a small white tail with a black tip. There are believed to be several subspecies, including the black-tailed deer. They do not run as other deer, but have a distinctive bounding leap that can cover distances up to 8 yards.

Also known as cougar or puma, the mountain lion is a large wild cat native to the Western Hemisphere. Mountain lions can be found in a variety of habitats across North and South America, including forests, mountains, swamps, or deserts. Adult mountain lions are brown in color and reach a length of about 4 feet (1.2 meters), not including their long tail, and their weight averages 136 pounds (62 kg).

The mountain lion appears in various Native American traditional lore, such as the Keres and Tewa creation myths, in which it is associated with the pre-emergence place. In Zuni tradition, the mountain lion is the beast-god of the North.

A laboratory room dedicated to the examination of morphology, which is a branch in biology and medicine that studies the form and structure of organisms. In medicine, morphology applies in particular to the study of internal body organs, focusing on their shape, size, and structure, rather than their function.