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Bookworm
Colonial Militia
USA
Bumppo's Patron since [at least]:
February 10 2004
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 Posted - May 18 2009 : 07:29:59 AM
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I've just started reading "Blood and Thunder: The Epic Story of Kit Carson and the Conquest of the American West" by Hampton Sides, and I recommend it highly. It's a beautifully written book about the U.S. Army's campaign to seize Mexico's territories in what is now the southwestern United States, and the eventual fight with the Navajos and their attempted relocation following the disastrous "Long Walk." The book paints fair and vivid portraits of Kit Carson, General Stephen Watts Kearny, John Charles Fremont, President James K. Polk, the Navajo leader Narbona, and many others, including General William Tecumseh Sherman, who finally allowed the Navajos to return home. I knew very little of Navajo history, or southwestern history for that matter, beyond the bits and pieces one can pick up from Tony Hillerman's novels, and this book is going to remedy that knowledge gap. ("Muzzleloader" subscribers may remember the favorable review that recently appeared in the magazine.)
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Bookworm
"I've gotten so fascinated with the eighteenth century, I'm going to stay there." -- David McCullough
"Nothing to it, brother." -- Barack Obama |
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Obediah
Mohicanland Statesman
USA
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August 16 2006
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Posted - May 18 2009 : 09:29:00 AM
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IIRC, "Bosque Redondo" is mentioned numerous times in Hillerman's novels as the end of the trail for the Navajo's long walk, and not in a very positive light...
Tangentially (howd'ya like that big word?), Tony Hillerman's description of Joe Leaphorn looked nothing like Wes Studi! I think Hillerman got it wrong.  |
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Monadnock Guide
Council of Elders
USA
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March 14 2005
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Bookworm
Colonial Militia
USA
Bumppo's Patron since [at least]:
February 10 2004
Status: offline
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Posted - May 18 2009 : 11:13:52 AM
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That's a really nice big word, Obi! And here's another funny aspect to the disconnect between the film portrayal of Joe Leaphorn and Hillerman's description of the character: In the books Hillerman emphasizes the difference in physical characteristics among members of the various tribes -- Chee's Hopi friend, Cowboy Dashee, for example -- and even within the Navajo tribe as a whole. In one of the earliest books (I've recently re-read the first four), Leaphorn is in a trading post and sees there a man who looks to him like one of the Tuba City Navajos. Hillerman then offers a description of a typical Tuba City Navajo. Wonder what he thought of Wes Studi as Leaphorn? My guess is that he was just glad such a fine actor had been chosen to play him. (And a fine actor was chosen to play Jim Chee, as well.)
I think you're right about Bosque Redondo, Obi. And I believe Hillerman also mentioned the Army's destruction of the Navajos' peach orchards, along with just about every other living thing in Dinetah, on the theory that, with nothing left there to support life, the Navajos would resign themselves to their exile. To use a current blogging expression, "Epic fail!" The Army failed to understand the pull of a homeland that was not only physical but spiritual. It's said that when, on the Navajos' return journey, they came within sight of Tsoodzil, one of their sacred mountains, tears came to the eyes of even the most hardened warriors.
And here's another example of the past that isn't really past: Tsoodzil, as it's known to the Navajos, appears on modern-day maps as Mount Taylor, located west of Albuquerque. Hillerman referred to it as Turquoise Mountain; the name Blue Bead Mountain is used in "Blood and Thunder"; it's sacred to other Indian tribes as well. Current efforts to protect the mountain have run into at least two obstacles: a considerable amount of land on the mountain is in private hands; and beneath the surface of the mountain are sizable deposits of uranium. Here's one view of the matter:
http://www.newmexicoindependent.com/26331/protecting-mt-taylor-is-a-matter-of-respect
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Bookworm
"I've gotten so fascinated with the eighteenth century, I'm going to stay there." -- David McCullough
"Nothing to it, brother." -- Barack Obama |
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Bookworm
Colonial Militia
USA
Bumppo's Patron since [at least]:
February 10 2004
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Posted - May 18 2009 : 11:32:22 AM
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| MG, that's an excellent short biography of Kit Carson and a very nice overall site as well, one that I hadn't seen before. Many thanks! |
Bookworm
"I've gotten so fascinated with the eighteenth century, I'm going to stay there." -- David McCullough
"Nothing to it, brother." -- Barack Obama |
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Obediah
Mohicanland Statesman
USA
Bumppo's Patron since [at least]:
August 16 2006
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Posted - May 19 2009 : 10:31:33 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by Bookworm
..... funny aspect to the disconnect between the film portrayal of Joe Leaphorn and Hillerman's description of the character: In the books Hillerman emphasizes the difference in physical characteristics among members of the various tribes.....Wonder what he thought of Wes Studi as Leaphorn? My guess is that he was just glad such a fine actor had been chosen to play him.....It's said that when, on the Navajos' return journey, they came within sight of Tsoodzil, one of their sacred mountains, tears came to the eyes of even the most hardened warriors.
And here's another example of the past that isn't really past: Tsoodzil.....
IIRC (and it has been year since I read all the Hillerman books), many Navajo from the western end of the Nation had broad shoulders and narrow hips, generally speaking; hmmm, just like our hero Wes Studi! And...you'll get no argument from me about his great acting ability! And speaking of 'disconnects', it always seemed to me that Wes Studi's Joe Leaphorn was way to 'citified' when compared to Tony Hillerman's version.
I'm sure the sight of Tsoodzil brought tears to the eyes of all Dine; this seems like a common thread throughout history. Read Ezra 3 in the OT, for instance. Lastly, IIRC, the Dine had three sacred mountains 'back in the day', none of which, ironically are located in what is now the "Navajo Nation." |
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Bookworm
Colonial Militia
USA
Bumppo's Patron since [at least]:
February 10 2004
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Posted - May 22 2009 : 10:59:04 AM
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Ezra 3, 11-12: "And all the people responded with a great shout when they praised the Lord, because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid. But many of the priests and Levites and heads of families, old people who had seen the first house on its foundations, wept with a loud voice when they saw this house . . . ."
Nice reference, Obi. You know your Bible.
I didn't know the identities of the Sacred Mountains, so, back to Google. Here they are:
Sacred Mountain of the East: Mt. Blanca, Dawn or White Shell Mountain, near Alamosa in San Luis Valley, CO
Sacred Mountain of the South: Mt. Taylor, Blue Bead or Turquoise Mountain, north of Laguna, NM
Sacred Mountain of the West: San Francisco Peaks, or Abalone Shell Mountain, near Flagstaff, AZ
Sacred Mountain of the North: Mount Hesperus, or Obsidian Mountain,
in the La Plata Mountains, CO
And you're right, Obi, none of them is located within the boundaries of the modern-day Navajo Nation.
Regarding Wes Studi as a too-citified version of Joe Leaphorn: Maybe it's because the three TV movies in which he appears are adapted from relatively late novels. In the first books, Leaphorn is clambering over rocks, dancing at festivals, etc., and being very much the action hero. |
Bookworm
"I've gotten so fascinated with the eighteenth century, I'm going to stay there." -- David McCullough
"Nothing to it, brother." -- Barack Obama |
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Obediah
Mohicanland Statesman
USA
Bumppo's Patron since [at least]:
August 16 2006
Status: offline
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Posted - May 22 2009 : 12:02:18 PM
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| Hillerman's pre-Chee novels are definitely my favorites. But I don't think he ever gets 'preachy' in them! |
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"Blood and Thunder": Kit Carson and the Navajos
