Hillerman, Tony

Hillerman, Tony (1925–  ) writer; born in Sacred Heart, Okla. Although he was raised among the Pottawatomie and Seminole Indians and studied at an Indian boarding school, he was not a Native American. He attended Oklahoma State University (1943), the University of Oklahoma (B.A. 1946), and the University of New Mexico (M.A. 1966). He worked as a journalist in Texas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico (1948–63), lived in Albuquerque, and taught journalism at the University of New Mexico (1976–85). He wrote numerous mystery novels drawing on Native American culture, the most successful featuring Sergeant Jim Chee of the Navajo Tribal Police.