I still believe that the renewed appreciation of Indian Country owes a great deal to the 1970s. When Native individuals began to receive media attention during that decade, it did much to aid a new look at Indian Country and its arts. A young and handsome Ray Tracey brought new luster to the Santa Fe Indian Market. In time, his jewelry would come to define Native American design, as it straddled a line between traditional form and contemporary sleekness. In Taos, R.C. Gorman’s dreamy prints featured an idealized and colorful Southwestern landscape, often peopled by enigmatic Native women in romantic clothing.

It was left to a non-Native, however, to introduce two fictional Navajo cops uncovering disturbingly familiar crimes on the vast reservation. Santa Fe journalist Tony Hillerman created young Jim Chee and more experienced Joe Leaphorn; these characters drew many of us into a best-selling mystery series.