Joe Leaphorn

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Joe Leaphorn
The Leaphorn and Chee series character
First appearance The Blessing Way
Last appearance The Shape Shifter
Created by Tony Hillerman
Portrayed by Fred Ward
Wes Studi
Zahn McClarnon
In-universe information
GenderMale
OccupationNavajo tribal police officer
NationalityNative-American

Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn is a fictional character created by the twentieth-century American mystery writer Tony Hillerman. He is one of the two officers of the Navajo Tribal Police who are featured in a number of Hillerman's novels. [1] The other officer is Jim Chee.

Contents

Character biography

Personal life and education

The mother of Joe Leaphorn was Anna Gorman. His maternal grandfather was Hosteen Klee Thlumie, called as Hosteen Klee by young Leaphorn. As a child, Leaphorn was told the stories of the Navajo way of life ( Listening Woman ) by Thlumie. He was educated in the lower grades near home on the reservation, but sent to boarding school for the higher grades. He attended college at Arizona State University, where he completed a master's degree in anthropology, writing a thesis paper ( Dance Hall of the Dead ). In addition to anthropology, he has a lifelong interest in the many religions of American Indians and peoples of the world. In the earlier books of the series, Leaphorn is married to the love of his life, Emma. They have no children. Emma has survived an episode of cancer, but experiences a reoccurrence which she does not survive. Leaphorn is devastated.

Later, Leaphorn becomes attracted to an anthropologist named Louisa Bourebonette, whom he meets while working on a case in Coyote Waits . Leaphorn is always in love with Emma, but he enjoys Louisa's sharp mind and her company.

Leaphorn lives in the Navajo capital of Window Rock, Arizona.

Professional life

Joe Leaphorn is a member of the Navajo Tribal Police (now Navajo Nation Police) Navajo Police Chevrolet Tahoe.jpg
Joe Leaphorn is a member of the Navajo Tribal Police (now Navajo Nation Police)

Educated in assimilationist Indian boarding schools operated by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, he is not as well versed in Navajo rituals, though he has attended the usual ceremonies. He is fluent in Navajo and in English. In the first three novels of the series, he has no staff; he reports to Captain Largo in the Navajo Tribal Police and works with officers of other tribes and often with federal investigative agencies. Leaphorn's approach to his cases is informed by some Navajo, or Diné, tradition, but also by Anglo-European logic.

Leaphorn holds a Navajo world view, with no expectation of heaven in the afterlife, instead a need to find his place in this life and lead his life well. He follows the rules of courtesy of the Navajo as to the ebb and flow of conversations, and his ability to handle demanding characters from the white world around him. In Talking God , the year following the death of his wife, Leaphorn has a Blessing Way ceremony done for him by Jim Chee, an event that both find beneficial.

In his career he works in a number of locations, including a brief stint training at the FBI headquarters in Washington, D.C. Five months before The Fallen Man , Leaphorn retires, and as part of the plot he gets a commission as a private investigator.

Reception

Several reviewers have praised Hillerman's culturally sensitive depiction of the Leaphorn character. Kirkus Reviews noted the "quiet, wise presence of Leaphorn himself, unselfconsciously drawing on the best of two clashing cultures." [2] Another Kirkus review praised "Hillerman's anything but wooden Indians and the way in which he informs their way of life with affection and dignity." [3] Greg Herren wrote, "what makes Skinwalkers so outstanding, for me, is that it takes the reader inside the world of the Navajo reservation". [4]

Bibliography

Joe Leaphorn appears in the following novels:

In the three novels published between 1978 and 1986, the stories focus on the younger Jim Chee.

In each of the following Leaphorn and Jim Chee work together:

Skinwalkers, A Thief of Time and Coyote Waits were each adapted for television as part of the American Mystery! series by the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS)

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tony Hillerman</span> American writer (1925–2008)

Anthony Grove Hillerman was an American author of detective novels and nonfiction works, best known for his mystery novels featuring Navajo Nation Police officers Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee. Several of his works have been adapted for film and television.

Jim Chee is one of two Navajo Tribal Police detectives in a series of mystery novels by Tony Hillerman. Unlike his superior Joe Leaphorn, the "Legendary Lieutenant", Chee is a staunch believer in traditional Navajo culture; indeed, he is studying to be a traditional healer at the same time that he is a police officer.

<i>The Blessing Way</i> 1970 novel by Tony Hillerman

The Blessing Way is a crime novel by American writer Tony Hillerman, the first in the Joe Leaphorn/Jim Chee Navajo Tribal Police series. First published in 1970, it introduces the character of officer Joe Leaphorn.

<i>The Fallen Man</i> 1996 novel by Tony Hillerman

The Fallen Man is a crime novel by American writer Tony Hillerman, the twelfth in the Joe Leaphorn/Jim Chee Navajo Tribal Police series, first published in 1996.

<i>Dance Hall of the Dead</i> 1973 novel by Tony Hillerman

Dance Hall Of The Dead is a crime novel by American writer Tony Hillerman, the second in the Joe Leaphorn/Jim Chee Navajo Tribal Police series, first published in 1973. It features police Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn. It is set primarily in Ramah Reservation and the Zuni village in New Mexico, both in the American Southwest.

<i>Talking God</i> 1989 novel by Tony Hillerman

Talking God is a crime novel by American writer Tony Hillerman, the ninth in the Joe Leaphorn/Jim Chee Navajo Tribal Police series, published in 1989.

<i>Listening Woman</i> 1978 book by Tony Hillerman

Listening Woman is a crime novel by American writer Tony Hillerman, the third in the Joe Leaphorn/Jim Chee Navajo Tribal Police series, first published in 1978. The novel features Joe Leaphorn.

<i>Skinwalkers</i> (novel) 1986 novel by Tony Hillerman

Skinwalkers is a crime novel by American writer Tony Hillerman, the seventh in the Joe Leaphorn/Jim Chee Navajo Tribal Police series, published in 1986. The film version, Skinwalkers, was adapted for television for the PBS Mystery! series in 2002.

<i>The Ghostway</i> 1984 novel by Tony Hillerman

The Ghostway is a crime novel by American writer Tony Hillerman, the sixth in the Joe Leaphorn/Jim Chee Navajo Tribal Police series. It was first published in 1984 and features Jim Chee.

<i>A Thief of Time</i> 1988 novel by Tony Hillerman

A Thief of Time is a crime novel by American writer Tony Hillerman, the eighth in the Joe Leaphorn/Jim Chee Navajo Tribal Police series, first published in 1988. It was adapted for television as part of the PBS Mystery! series in 2004.

<i>Skinwalkers</i> (2002 film) 2002 American mystery television film

Skinwalkers is a 2002 mystery television film based on the novel of the same name by Tony Hillerman, one of his series of mysteries set against contemporary Navajo life in the Southwest. It features an all-Native cast, with Adam Beach and Wes Studi playing officers Jim Chee and Joe Leaphorn. It was produced as part of the PBS Mystery! series, filmed on the Navajo reservation and directed by Chris Eyre.

<i>Coyote Waits</i> 1990 novel by Tony Hillerman

Coyote Waits is a crime novel by American writer Tony Hillerman, the tenth in the Joe Leaphorn/Jim Chee Navajo Tribal Police series, first published in 1990.

<i>Sacred Clowns</i> Novel by Tony Hillerman

Sacred Clowns is a crime novel by American writer Tony Hillerman, the eleventh in the Joe Leaphorn/Jim Chee Navajo Tribal Police series, first published in 1993.

<i>The First Eagle</i> 1998 novel by Tony Hillerman

The First Eagle is a crime novel by American writer Tony Hillerman, the thirteenth in the Joe Leaphorn/Jim Chee Navajo Tribal Police series, first published in 1998.

<i>Hunting Badger</i> 1999 novel by Tony Hillerman

Hunting Badger is a crime novel by American writer Tony Hillerman, the fourteenth in the Joe Leaphorn/Jim Chee Navajo Tribal Police series, first published in 1999.

<i>The Wailing Wind</i> Book by Tony Hillerman

The Wailing Wind is a crime novel by American writer Tony Hillerman, the fifteenth in the Joe Leaphorn/Jim Chee Navajo Tribal Police series, first published in 2002. It is a New York Times best-seller.

<i>The Sinister Pig</i> Book by Tony Hillerman

The Sinister Pig is a crime novel by American writer Tony Hillerman, the sixteenth in the Joe Leaphorn/Jim Chee Navajo Tribal Police series, first published in 2003. It was a New York Times best-seller.

<i>Skeleton Man</i> (novel) 2004 novel by Tony Hillerman

Skeleton Man is a crime novel by American writer Tony Hillerman, the seventeenth in the Joe Leaphorn/Jim Chee Navajo Tribal Police series, first published in 2004. It was a New York Times best-seller

<i>The Shape Shifter</i> 2006 novel by Tony Hillerman

The Shape Shifter is a crime novel by American writer Tony Hillerman, the eighteenth in the Joe Leaphorn/Jim Chee Navajo Tribal Police series, first published in 2006. It was a New York Times best-seller and the last Chee/Leaphorn novel by Hillerman published before Hillerman's death on October 26, 2008.

<i>Spider Womans Daughter</i> 2013 novel by Anne Hillerman

Spider Woman's Daughter is a crime novel by American writer Anne Hillerman, released in 2013. It is the first [[Leaphorn/Chee mystery written by her, the daughter of the series originator Tony Hillerman. The title of the book is derived from Native American legends. Spider Woman was the one who taught the Navajo people how to weave. Officer Bernadette Manuelito is the daughter of a weaver, and married to Officer Jim Chee. He nicknamed her "Spider Woman's Daughter" for her ability to weave together a complex array of evidence to solve a crime. In her debut effort to continue the series, Anne Hillerman has given the reader an exceptionally detailed plot and long list of characters. One reviewer at Goodreads.com counted 46 named characters.

References

  1. ↑ George N. Dove and Earl F. Bargainnier (eds), Cops and Constables: American and British Fictional Policemen, Popular Press, 1986, pp. 98–113, ISBN   0879723343.
  2. ↑ "Listening Woman". Kirkus Reviews (April 1, 1978 ed.). April 4, 2012. Retrieved May 28, 2014.
  3. ↑ "Dance Hall of the Dead". Kirkus Reviews (October 1, 1973 ed.). April 4, 2012. Retrieved 20 May 2014.
  4. ↑ Herren, Greg (February 2003). "Skinwalkers". Reviewing the Evidence, Reviews. Retrieved March 7, 2012.
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