People of Darkness (1980)

A small Navajo community located in northwestern New Mexico, on the eastern edge of the Chaco Canyon. Pueblo Pintado 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. Pueblo Pintado, which in Spanish means "Painted Village," is named after one of the ancient ruin sites in the Chaco Culture National Historical Park.

A small community located in northwestern New Mexico, on the eastern side of the Navajo Reservation. Standing Rock 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. Standing Rock is named Tse'ii'ahi in Navajo, which literally means "Rock Pointing Upward."

A small community located in northwestern New Mexico, on the eastern border of the Navajo Reservation. The Navajo Nation 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. The Ojo Encino chapter was established in 1957 after some of the surrounding lands, which were occupied by Spanish families since the time of the Spanish conquest, were returned to the Navajo people. The Spanish name Ojo Encino means "Oak Springs," while the original Navajo name Tse'chizhi' Bito' means "Water Among Rough Rock."

A long stretch of unmaintained dirt road that is corrugated by closely-spaced ripples. The rippling occurs on some old unpaved roads over time as a result of dry weather conditions and continuous friction created by wheels moving quickly over loose sand and gravel. Washboard roads can be uncomfortable, and even dangerous to travel over, due to repeated bouncing created by the uneven surface, which can damage vehicles.

A large geologic formation located in north-central New Mexico between the Sangre de Cristo Mountains near Santa Fe and the Sandia Mountains east of Albuquerque. This area ranges from 900 to 4,000 feet in height and is characterized by a varied and layered mix of sedimentary strata including sandstone, sand, clay, limestone, and volcanic deposits. The formation contains many preserved fossils, dating as far back as 23 million years ago to the Paleogene period.

A raised area located at the rear of some businesses and institutional buildings such as stores, factories, schools, or hospitals. Loading docks give service trucks direct access to storage rooms so that they can load or unload products and supplies. Because the dock is roughly at the level of the truck bed itself, it is relatively easy to move items.

Also known as roofing felt or tar paper, roofing paper is made of either heavy-duty paper or fiberglass mat that is soaked in tar or asphalt to produce a waterproof material. This material is used as an insulating layer in roof construction, and is normally laid in sheets over the wooden sheathing of the house and under the exterior shingles.

The Ute are a Native American group living in southern Colorado, northern New Mexico, and eastern Utah, a state which is named after them. The name Ute means "land of the sun." They speak the Ute language, which belongs to the Numic branch of Uto-Aztecan language family, suggesting a connection between the Ute tribes and other indigenous groups found throughout what is now northern and central Mexico. The Ute were known to be expert horsemen and hunters; however, prior to European, specifically Spanish, contact, they primarily lived by collecting plants and other wild foods. The Ute have been considered traditional enemies of the Navajo, as well as other tribes in the U.S. Southwest, because of their practice of capturing women and children and then selling them to European settlers and other indigenous groups as slaves. Today, the Ute are found in three distinct groups on three separate reservations: the Uintah-Ouray Ute in Utah, the Ute Mountain Ute along the Colorado-New Mexico border, and the Southern Ute.

In many indigenous cultures throughout the Americas, cornmeal is used as a prayer offering. In Zuni culture, for example, the meal is sprinkled over corn planted at each of the four cardinal directions. Before leaving to plant, a husband and his water container will be sprinkled with meal to symbolize the blessings of rain.

The Corn Maidens of Zuni personify the bounty of life giving corn that grows in six colors. The Seven maidens made corn seeds from rubbing the flesh off their body. Early on, insulted by the lascivious gyrations of the male dancers and flute players, the Corn Maidens fled to the land of everlasting summer. It is their breath that brings the rain and warm breezes of summer to the lands of winter. In the legend, the Corn Maidens return to dance when the corn is a foot high. In some legends the sisters perish in a fire that scorches the earth and in others, they become the seven stars of the Big Dipper. In Zuni mythology, the Corn Maidens are often dancing and the Zuni Molawai ritual dramatizes the loss and recovery of the Corn Maidens on the first day of the December Shalaka ceremony.

The Yellow Corn Maiden symbolizes the north; the Blue Corn Maiden represents the west; Red Corn Maiden represents the south; White Corn Maiden is of the east; the speckled Corn Maiden stands for the zenith; and the Black Corn Maiden for the nadir. Each maiden accompanied the Shiwani, or rain priests, to their homes in the respective directions.