New Mexico/Arizona
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| Interview with Tony Hillerman from ALBUQUERQUE THE MAGAZINE July 2005 by Stephen Ausherman |
| Photos from Hillerman Country by Stephen Ausherman |
A sign along hwy 89 raises suspicions about those ahead.
Artifacts found near the trail above Chaco Canyon.
Seen from Sedona, a contrail seems to transform
a rock formation into an active volcano.
a rock formation into an active volcano.
For those who don’t already know, Tony
Hillerman is a household name for mystery
readers worldwide. The highly acclaimed
author’s catalog of accolades includes
honors as diverse as the Malice Domestic
Lifetime Achievement Award, a Purple
Heart, a Silver Star, the Silver Spur Award
for the best novel set in the West, a Special
Friends of the Dinee Award by the Navajo
Nation, the National Media Award from the
American Anthropological Association, the
Public Service Award from the U.S.
Department of the Interior and the Grand
Prix de Littérature Policiére. The list goes on.
He’s penned something in the neighborhood
of twenty novels, three of which found their
way to film.
The Hillerman franchise of books and
cinema recently expanded into tourism when
the prolific author endorsed group tours of
the sacred Indian lands that inspired his
novels. Debuting this year, Hillerman
Country Tours are slated to depart from
Albuquerque and Phoenix for five-day
excursions across New Mexico and Arizona.
Stephen Ausherman recently previewed the
tour and spoke with Tony Hillerman about it.
Hillerman is a household name for mystery
readers worldwide. The highly acclaimed
author’s catalog of accolades includes
honors as diverse as the Malice Domestic
Lifetime Achievement Award, a Purple
Heart, a Silver Star, the Silver Spur Award
for the best novel set in the West, a Special
Friends of the Dinee Award by the Navajo
Nation, the National Media Award from the
American Anthropological Association, the
Public Service Award from the U.S.
Department of the Interior and the Grand
Prix de Littérature Policiére. The list goes on.
He’s penned something in the neighborhood
of twenty novels, three of which found their
way to film.
The Hillerman franchise of books and
cinema recently expanded into tourism when
the prolific author endorsed group tours of
the sacred Indian lands that inspired his
novels. Debuting this year, Hillerman
Country Tours are slated to depart from
Albuquerque and Phoenix for five-day
excursions across New Mexico and Arizona.
Stephen Ausherman recently previewed the
tour and spoke with Tony Hillerman about it.
excerpt from the interview
SA: One of the highlights of the tour is meeting James Peshlakai
at the Grand Canyon. You mention in your notes that he allowed
you to use his name for the fictional shaman of Coyote Canyon in
The Wailing Wind. ... What can you tell me about the real James
Peshlakai?
TH: He’s a great guy. He’s a Navajo who understands his people
and his culture. And he’s a bona fide, true-blue Navajo. I admire
him a lot.
SA: The fictional Peshlakai seems to have a quiet, somewhat
mischievous sense of humor.
TH: That is typically Navajo. An endless, deep sense of humor.
They’ve always got something to smile about. Two things about
Navajo, their characteristics: One is that sense of humor. The
other one is, and I’ve never known another culture like it, that has
as strongly a love of the beautiful things in nature. ...
SA: One of the highlights of the tour is meeting James Peshlakai
at the Grand Canyon. You mention in your notes that he allowed
you to use his name for the fictional shaman of Coyote Canyon in
The Wailing Wind. ... What can you tell me about the real James
Peshlakai?
TH: He’s a great guy. He’s a Navajo who understands his people
and his culture. And he’s a bona fide, true-blue Navajo. I admire
him a lot.
SA: The fictional Peshlakai seems to have a quiet, somewhat
mischievous sense of humor.
TH: That is typically Navajo. An endless, deep sense of humor.
They’ve always got something to smile about. Two things about
Navajo, their characteristics: One is that sense of humor. The
other one is, and I’ve never known another culture like it, that has
as strongly a love of the beautiful things in nature. ...
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