John Adair; Documented the Navajo Nation

John Adair, 84, whose photographs, films and texts documented the Navajo nation for nearly half a century. Born in Memphis, he began his field studies of the Navajo and Zuni cultures in the 1930s. His photographs, films and texts from 1938 through the mid-1970s are definitive references on Navajo health, silversmiths and culture. Between 1964 and 1978, Adair was professor of anthropology at San Francisco State University. On Dec. 14 at his San Francisco home.