Kinlichee, Arizona
human settlement in Apache County, Arizona, United States of America
Kinlichee, also known historically as Kin Li Chee, Kin-Li-Chee, or Kin-li-Chee, is a populated place situated in Apache County, Arizona, United States, six miles north-northeast of Ganado. The current name was officially recognized as a result of a decision by the Board on Geographic Names in 1983. It has an estimated elevation of 6,660 feet (2,030 m) above sea level. The name is derived from the Navajo kin dah łichíí’, which means "red house up at an elevation".
The location has a boarding school, Kin Dah Łichí'í Ólta', which opened in its most recent incarnation in 1999.
Kinlichee was home to Nelson J. "Jerome" McCabe, former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Navajo Nation. McCabe died in 2014, and is buried in the Kinlichee Community Cemetery. Craig Curley, a Native American distance runner, was also born in Kinlichee.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Kinlichee, Arizona” is human settlement in Apache County, Arizona, United States of America. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Kinlichee, Arizona and human, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “human settlement in Apache County, Arizona, United States of America” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
The strongest evidence will usually combine a dated visual record with documents produced by the authority responsible for the place. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 19, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q4958078. Authority coordinates are 35.756, -109.426. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1983, 1999 and 2014.
Architectural summaries often privilege surviving fabric and can understate demolished phases, contested use or displaced communities. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Kinlichee, Arizona”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Kinlichee, Arizona primary sources, Kinlichee, Arizona archive and Kinlichee research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Kinlichee, Arizona”?
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- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Kinlichee, Arizona” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.