Joe Leaphorn

Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn is a fictional character created by American mystery writer Tony Hillerman, one of two officers of the Navajo Tribal Police that feature in a number of novels. The other officer is Jim Chee.

Related Topics:
Fictional character - Mystery - Tony Hillerman - Navajo Tribal Police - Jim Chee

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Leaphorn, the older of the two policemen, is a realist who does not believe in Navajo superstition. But at the same time, he realizes that many traditional Navajo still do hold such beliefs and often act on them in a violent manner. Leaphorn is called the "Legendary Lieutenant" by many members of his staff, and some of the younger policemen (such as Chee) hold him in awe.

Related Topics:
Navajo - Legendary Lieutenant

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Leaphorn is also featured in television dramatizations of some Hillerman novels, played on the American television network PBS by actor Wes Studi, a member of the Cherokee Nation.

Related Topics:
PBS - Wes Studi - Cherokee Nation

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In his autobiography Seldom Disappointed (2002), Hillerman reveals that he named Leaphorn after the ancient Minoan practice of bull-jumping, as he was reading a book on Minoan culture while writing his first novel.

Related Topics:
Seldom Disappointed - 2002 - Minoan - Bull-jumping

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The most notable feature of Leaphorn's method of police work is his large, color-coded map. It is an enlargement of an old auto club road map of the Four Corners area, on which he marks different kinds of crimes with different-colored pins - red-headed pins stand for alcohol-related crimes, for example. This process then allows him to notice patterns that link various crimes together, and helps him solve them. Leaphorn eventually retires, and promptly begins working as a private investigator; he frequently gives Jim Chee advice (though never unsolicited).

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

At one time, Lieutenant Leaphorn was married to the love of his life, Emma. Unfortunately, she dies between Skinwalkers and A Thief of Time. Later, Leaphorn becomes attracted to an anthropologist named Louisa Bourbonette, who he meets while working on a case.

Related Topics:
''Skinwalkers'' - A Thief of Time - Louisa Bourbonette

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~