Jim Chee is one of two
Navajo Tribal Police detectives in a series of
mystery
Mystery, The Mystery, Mysteries or The Mysteries may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters
*Mystery, a cat character in ''Emily the Strange''
Films
* ''Mystery'' (2012 film), a 2012 Chinese drama film
* ''Mystery'' ( ...
novels by
Tony Hillerman
Anthony Grove Hillerman (May 27, 1925 – October 26, 2008) 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 work ...
.
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.
Profile
Personal life
Jim Chee is an acting sergeant in the Navajo Tribal Police when he first appears in ''
People of Darkness'', working in the Crownpoint, New Mexico, office. He has two older sisters. His mother and his mother's brother (his little father) and her two sisters (his little mothers) are still alive and also part of his life. His uncle, Hosteen Frank Sam Nakai, is frequently helpful to Chee, whose advice runs through Chee's mind, and whose tapes of the words for various Navajo rituals aid Chee in memorizing them. From childhood on, Chee is remarked for his excellent memory, detailed and exact.
Chee's education is similar to that of Lt. Leaphorn, as he studied anthropology at the University of New Mexico and attended a boarding high school, described in ''
People of Darkness''. In ''
Coyote Waits
The coyote (''Canis latrans'') is a species of canine native to North America. It is smaller than its close relative, the wolf, and slightly smaller than the closely related eastern wolf and red wolf. It fills much of the same ecological nich ...
'', Chee mentions that he took about seven years to graduate from college, as he had to skip a term to earn tuition money. Both came from families or clans with many singers, or ''yataalii''. Chee's Navajo name, given him by his maternal uncle, is Long Thinker. When Chee first appears in the novels, he is younger than the age Lt. Leaphorn appeared, and still a single man.
Police work
![Navajo Police Chevrolet Tahoe](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1e/Navajo_Police_Chevrolet_Tahoe.jpg)
Chee and Leaphorn first meet and work together in ''Skinwalkers'', when an attempt was made on Chee's life as he slept. Chee knows the reputation Leaphorn has for his success in police work, and after Leaphorn retires, Chee thinks of Leaphorn as legendary and always smarter than Chee is. Chee is willing to call on Leaphorn whenever he is stuck with a particular problem in a case.
Development of the character
Hillerman writes in his autobiography, ''
Seldom Disappointed'' (2001), that he created Jim Chee as an alternative to Leaphorn for the novel ''People of Darkness'' (1980), because the novel is set on the
Checkerboard Reservation, and Hillerman felt that Leaphorn was too hardened to fit into the plot. He needed someone more naive, and Chee fit the bill.
Appearances in other media
In the 1991 theatrical film adaptation of ''
The Dark Wind '', Chee was played by
Lou Diamond Phillips
Louis Diamond Phillips ( born Upchurch; February 17, 1962) is a Filipino-American actor and film director. His breakthrough came when he starred as Ritchie Valens in the biographical drama film '' La Bamba'' (1987). For ''Stand and Deliver'' (19 ...
.
Three of the Hillerman novels (''
Skinwalkers'', ''
Coyote Waits
The coyote (''Canis latrans'') is a species of canine native to North America. It is smaller than its close relative, the wolf, and slightly smaller than the closely related eastern wolf and red wolf. It fills much of the same ecological nich ...
'', and ''
A Thief of Time
''A Thief of Time'' is the eighth crime fiction novel Joe Leaphorn / Jim Chee Navajo Tribal Police series by Tony Hillerman, first published in 1988. It was adapted for television as part of the PBS ''Mystery!'' series in 2004.
The story in ...
'') were adapted for television as part of the PBS series ''
Mystery!
''Mystery!'' (also written ''MYSTERY!'') is a television anthology series produced by WGBH Boston for PBS in the United States.
The series was created as a mystery, police and crime drama spin-off of the already established PBS show '' Master ...
'', as part of its ''American Mystery!'' specials. In these adaptations, Chee was played by actor
Adam Beach. ''Skinwalkers'' first aired November 24, 2002; ''A Thief of Time'' first aired July 11, 2004, and ''Coyote Waits'' first aired November 16, 2003.
Kiowa Gordon
Kiowa Joseph Gordon (born March 25, 1990) is an American actor of Hualapai descent. He is best known for his role as shapeshifter Embry Call in '' The Twilight Saga,'' as well as Junior in the TV series ''The Red Road''.
Early life
Gordon wa ...
portrays Chee in the
AMC
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TV series ''
Dark Winds''.
Robert Redford purchased the
film rights
A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...
to the characters in 1988, and served as the
executive producer for all of the film and television adaptations.
Bibliography
Jim Chee appears in the following novels:
Written by Tony Hillerman
*''
People of Darkness'' (1980)
*''
The Dark Wind'' (1982)
*''
The Ghostway'' (1984)
*''
Skinwalkers'' (1986)
*''
A Thief of Time
''A Thief of Time'' is the eighth crime fiction novel Joe Leaphorn / Jim Chee Navajo Tribal Police series by Tony Hillerman, first published in 1988. It was adapted for television as part of the PBS ''Mystery!'' series in 2004.
The story in ...
'' (1988)
*''
Talking God'' (1989)
*''
Coyote Waits
The coyote (''Canis latrans'') is a species of canine native to North America. It is smaller than its close relative, the wolf, and slightly smaller than the closely related eastern wolf and red wolf. It fills much of the same ecological nich ...
'' (1990)
*''
Sacred Clowns
''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.
Murders happen on both the Navajo reservation and the Tano Pueblo. One happe ...
'' (1993)
*''
The Fallen Man'' (1996)
*''
The First Eagle'' (1998)
*''
Hunting Badger'' (1999)
*''
The Wailing Wind'' (2002)
*''
The Sinister Pig
''The Sinister Pig'' is the sixteenth crime fiction novel in the Joe Leaphorn / Jim Chee Navajo Tribal Police series by Tony Hillerman, first published in 2003. It was a ''New York Times'' best-seller.
A mystery involving diverted oil and gas re ...
'' (2003)
*''
Skeleton Man
''Skeleton Man'' is a 2004 made-for-tv slasher film directed by Johnny Martin and starring Michael Rooker and Casper Van Dien. It was aired from Sci Fi Channel on March 1, 2004. In the film, the titular Skeleton Man stalks a squad of soldiers.
P ...
'' (2004)
*''
The Shape Shifter
''The Shape Shifter'' is the eighteenth crime fiction novel in the Joe Leaphorn / Jim Chee Navajo Tribal Police series by Tony Hillerman, first published in 2006. It was a ''New York Times'' best-seller and the last Chee/Leaphorn novel by Hille ...
'' (2006)
Written by Anne Hillerman
*''
Spider Woman's Daughter ''(2013)
*''Rock With Wings'' (2015)
*''Song of the Lion'' (2017)
* ''Cave of Bones'' (2018)
* ''The Tale Teller'' (2019)
* ''Stargazer'' (2021)
* ''The Sacred Bridge'' (2022)
In every novel from ''Skinwalkers'' on, Chee is joined by Joe Leaphorn;
Anne Hillerman’s continuation of the series puts Chee’s wife Bernadette Manuelito in the main protagonist role, with Chee and Leaphorn assisting with her cases.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chee, Jim
Fictional Navajo people
Fictional American police detectives
Fictional characters from Arizona