Flying dragons of the Diné?

Exploring the Prospect of an Unidentified Species of Reptile within Navajo and Hopi Lands:  In Search of Tł’iish Naat’a’í (Snake-That-Flies)This report is the culmination of more than a year of independent research. In this presentation to the department of Fish and Wildlife, it is my intent to create an awareness of the potential presence of an as-yet-unidentified species of reptile, in specificity referred to as a type of snake, existing within (though not necessarily exclusive to) the boundaries of the Navajo Nation. In disclaimer I should state that, while this animal may be unidentified by academic science, it long has been known to, and recognized by, the Navajo and Hopi peoples both. The significance of this animal exceeds simply that it is alien to Western science, in that it exhibits a most remarkable feat of biomechanics in many ways unprecedented when compared with all other known terrestrial organisms. This biomechanical ability perhaps has been its own best defense from scientific investigation, classification, or even interest, simply because the very concept of such a creature initially seems absurd. The reptile in question is referred to in Navajo as either Tł’iish Naat’a’í (pronounced: kleesh-not-ahee), which transliterates as “Snake-That-Flies” or Tł’iish Naat’Agii (pronounced: kleesh-not-agee), roughly meaning “the snake amongst the flying animals.”

With this report, I intend to establish a case for the fact that Tł’iish Naat’a’í existence is not limited to being a mythological figure, nor as a simple symbolic representation of hybridized elements as anthropologists may conclude, nor as a resident of the spirit world, nor as a mere concoction of elder-stories, but in reality as a rare form of reptile that through the course of evolution somehow has evolved a successful means of achieving true flight via limbless wings.