3/20/1990 Tony Hillerman honored by Interior Department

March 20, 1990.  Today Secretary of the Interior Manuel Lujan, Jr. presented the Department's highest civilian honor, the Public Service Award, to Tony Hillerman.  "In his book, A Thief of Time, Tony Hillerman graphically portrayed the vulnerability of the thousands of archaeological sites being pillaged by unscrupulous pothunters," Lujan explained.  "He has ably advanced the goals of the Department in increasing public awareness of the need to preserve the richness of native American traditions in the face of modern life."  He also wrote a heck of a good novel.