Megan Brown Brown 1

History of Architecture, Interiors, and Furniture I – Professor Alissa De Wit Paul

November 13, 2019

(Rough) Navajo Weaving: Technique and Tradition

The Navajo are a tribe of American Indians that reside in what are now the states

of Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico. It is estimated that between 1100 CE and 1500 CE

this group, consisting of about 300,000 individuals since the early 2000’s, migrated from

Canada to the Southwest United States1. The welcoming nature of the Navajo tribe

allowed for contacts with nearby Pueblo tribes and Hopi tribes, especially when these

other groups were under suppression and suffering from drought. The relationships built

between the Navajo and other American and Mexican Indian tribes led to the hunter-

and-gatherer group becoming acquainted with farming and allowed for the adoption of

art influences from the other tribes, in particular the art of weaving. The Navajo weaving

method created cultural traditions that have lasted thousands of years and the

techniques used in their creation have heavily influenced the modern forms of rug and

blanket making.

Cultural traditions can include customs, events, and rituals that are carried out or

practiced by the majority of a society. The techniques of Navajo weaving a cultural

tradition are not the only cultural tradition linked with the practice; the patterns and prints

created on the weaved products also tell a story or hold cultural significance. Navajo

families required different prints and patterns to be used on their rugs, blankets, and

other weaved products in order to differentiate them from other families within the tribe 2.

1Encyclopaedia Britannica, s.v. “Navajo.” Encyclopaedia Britannica, inc, 2018.

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Navajo-people
2Brown, Toyacoyah. “Powwows.com,” Powwows.com(blog), March 5, 2018,
https://www.powwows.com/native-american-woven-arts-exhibit-opens-mitchell-museum-american-indian/.

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In addition to the ancestral importance of Navajo weaved products there is also

ceremonial and natural significance of the blankets, rugs, etc.3. The Yei figure (Figure 1)

is the representation of the Navajo divinity and was a controversial print used on Navajo

weaving. It was believed that if the maker of a Navajo weaved product with the Yei

figure on it, then they would go blind, because representing the Yei figure is compared

to someone writing a parody of the Bible. Many Navajo weaved products also used

nature-like or natural-form prints and patterns as motifs instead of as subjects4. The

cultural tradition of Navajo weaving is passed down between generations, from mother

to daughter, and starts with learning how to clean the materials and advances to the

techniques of the actual weaving5.

Figure 1
Navajo weaving

involves four steps6,

3 Amsden, Charles Avery. Navaho Weaving: Its Technic and Its History. Glorieta. NM: Rio Grande Press.
1990.
4 Dockstader, Frederick J. Weaving Arts of the North American Indian. New York:

IconEditions/HarperCollins, 1993.
5 Rose, Michael. “Native American Rugs,” All About Navajo Native American Rugs, n.d,

http://indians.org/articles/native-american-rugs.html.
6 “Navajo Rug Weaving ~ Monument Valley,” YouTube video, 3:04, “finleyholiday,” February 6,

2013, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DeAlIgHhPAE.

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ranging from material gathering to the act of weaving, and may take more than 2,000

hours of labor. The first process is the sheering (Figure 2) of the wool off of sheep;

shearing only happens in the Spring of each year, so weavers must shear as much wool

as possible to have enough material to last them the rest of the year. Weavers will then

clean the wool with soap from the yucca plant; the steps that follow cleaning form the

yarn that will be used to weave. Carding (Figure 3) is the combing of the wool so that it

becomes untangled and straightened. Using the cleaned and straightened wool

spinning takes place on a spindle (one may assume a wheel, but this would take up too

much room); precision during the spinning process (Figure 4) is crucial as it makes the

yarn strong. It is important to note that the steps of carding and weaving may take more

time than actual weaving. The last step is the weaving (Figure 5) of the yarn to create a

blanket, rug, etc.; the prints and patterns are completely memorized and does not

typically exceed 5-feet by 3-feet wide.

Figure 2
Figure 3

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Figure 4
Figure 5
When the Navajo returned to their native lands after being pushed out by the

Spanish there was a heavy reliance on the selling on weaved Navajo goods to sustain

the rebuilding of their economy. With the invention of the railroad came a spike of tourist

interest in the collection of American Indian art and crafts7. Since this introduction to the

rest of the nation, Navajo weaving has had a huge impact on today’s rug and blanket

making practices and principles. The tradition behind Navajo weaving was so great that

blanket and rug makers today build their careers on a foundation of research on Navajo

weaving to reclaim the practice and share the culture2. The practice of gathering one’s

material, like wool from sheep, is also something that a handful of craftspeople today

strive to do so that their products will stand out among the mass-produced, factory

pieces. Navajo weaving has not just had an impact on the practice of blanket and rug

making, but also on the very function of these pieces. Until the tourists discovered the

craft, Navajo weaved products were both decorative and functional, whereas now they

are primarily decorative3; houses around the world use Navajo products as area rugs,

wallcoverings, or even just to cover the top of a couch.

7THE COLLECTOR'S GUIDE: A BRIEF SOCIAL HISTORY OF NAVAJO WEAVING, 2014,

http://www.collectorsguide.com/fa/fa064.shtml.

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The cultural traditions that came about because of the practice of Navajo

weaving have lasted thousands of years and continue to impact the predecessors of the

individuals that practiced the technique. While modern technology led to the decline of

these handcrafted, woven products being made, the processes used in the creation of

Navajo rugs and blankets are practiced today in an attempt to reclaim this beautiful,

cultural art. As sustainability has become a key topic in most industries, being able to

gather one’s material right from the source, like wool from sheep, is a practice of Navajo

weaving that would benefit rug and blanket makers in today’s society. Unfortunately,

weaved products made by Navajo people today are hard to come by as survival on

Reservations require individuals to take less time-consuming and precision-based jobs8.

Bibliography

THE COLLECTOR'S GUIDE: A BRIEF SOCIAL HISTORY OF NAVAJO WEAVING,

2014. http://www.collectorsguide.com/fa/fa064.shtml.

8 Kent, Kate Peck, The Story of Navaho Weaving: Illustrated with Photos of Blankets in the Collection of
the Heard Museum of Anthropology and Primitive Art, Phoenix: Heard Museum of Anthropology and
Primitive Arts, 1973.

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Amsden, Charles Avery. Navaho Weaving: Its Technic and Its History. Glorieta. NM: Rio
Grande Press. 1990.

Brown, Toyacoyah. “Powwows.com.” Powwows.com(blog). March 5, 2018.

https://www.powwows.com/native-american-woven-arts-exhibit-opens-mitchell-
museum-american-indian/.

Dockstader, Frederick J. Weaving Arts of the North American Indian. New York:
IconEditions/HarperCollins, 1993.

Encyclopaedia Britannica, s.v. “Navajo.” Encyclopaedia Britannica, inc, 2018.

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Navajo-people.

Kent, Kate Peck. The Story of Navaho Weaving: Illustrated with Photos of Blankets in
the Collection of the Heard Museum of Anthropology and Primitive Art. Phoenix:
Heard Museum of Anthropology and Primitive Arts. 1973.

“Navajo Rug Weaving ~ Monument Valley.” YouTube video. 3:04. “finleyholiday.”

February 6, 2013. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DeAlIgHhPAE.

Rose, Michael. “Native American Rugs.” All About Navajo Native American Rugs. n.d.
http://indians.org/articles/native-american-rugs.html.