A UNM journalist whose novels made readers look harder at the Four Corners. The books are his, not a tribal history.
Tony Hillerman taught and wrote at the University of New Mexico. His Leaphorn and Chee novels are mysteries set in Navajo country. He was not Diné, and he said so. The books are fiction.
What Albuquerque can claim is the desk: a reporter who stayed, listened longer than he talked, and made the weather and the distance part of the plot.
We don’t speak for any nation, and we don’t reprint his pages. This is a hometown note about a writer who worked here.
Independent tribute to an Albuquerque hero. Not affiliated with the person, the family, or any team or foundation that carries the name. We don’t use their photograph. See a mistake? Write dukecitylegends@gmail.com.