Hillerman, Tony (1925-2008), was an American author whose works display a deep knowledge of Native American culture and tradition. Hillerman became best known for his series of detective novels featuring Navajo Indian tribal policemen Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee.
Leaphorn is university educated and, in many ways, lives within mainstream American culture. He first appears as a solo detective in The Blessing Way (1970), followed by Dance Hall of the Dead (1973) and Listening Woman (1978). The younger Chee has more interest in traditional Navajo ways. He is studying to become a shaman (religious leader) who performs traditional religious ceremonies and dances. People of Darkness (1980) is the first Chee novel, followed by The Dark Wind (1982) and The Ghost Way (1984). Leaphorn and Chee appear together in several books, including Skinwalkers (1987), A Thief of Time (1988), Talking God (1989), Coyote Waits (1990), Sacred Clowns (1993), The Fallen Man (1996), The First Eagle (1998), Hunting Badger (1999), The Wailing Wind (2002), The Sinister Pig (2003), Skeleton Man (2004), and The Shape Shifter (2006).
Anthony Grove Hillerman was born in Sacred Heart, Oklahoma, on May 27, 1925. He also wrote nonfiction about the Southwest, most notably The Great Taos Bank Robbery, and Other Indian Country Affairs (1973). He wrote a memoir, Seldom Disappointed (2001), describing his experiences as a soldier in World War II (1939-1945). Hillerman died on Oct. 26, 2008. Anne Hillerman, Tony’s daughter, continued her father’s Chee-Leaphorn stories with her novels Spider Woman’s Daughter (2013) and Rock with Wings (2015).
See also Detective story.
