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Navajo Weavers
One day when I came home from school, I heard my mother’s soft voice floating down the hallway from the living room. When I entered the room, she motioned me to sit by her in front of the loom. She did not stop weaving and she did not stop singing. After a few minutes, I asked why she was weaving. She told me that as long as she had her loom, she was home-in Diné Bikéyah (Navajoland).
“This is who we are,” she said. “The loom connects me with the sacred mountains, and song connects me with my mother.” She spent the next few hours telling me the story of how we, the Diné-the People- learned to weave.4
Weaving is an art where each rug is unique, and the design is distinct to an individual weaver. Navajo rugs, represent the enduring Navajo spirit in the face of historical changes. In the 19th century, the weavers herded their sheep, but also kept watch for coyotes, as well as soldiers. Most weavers endured the arduous Long Walk to Bosque Redondo where Navajos were held captive in 1864 in an attempted effort to ethnically cleanse the people by the United States government.
Upon their return from Bosque Redondo after the Treaty of 1868 was signed, the Navajos adapted their weaving by using new materials, new compositions, and the aesthetic designs.
Na’ashjé’ii Asdzáá and Na’ashjé’ii Hastiin
Na’ashjé’ii Asdzáá (Spider Woman) was entrusted by Diyin Dine’é (Holy People) to weave a pattern of the universe. At first, she did not know how to go about creating a universe with her weaving, so she observed her surroundings, especially the patterns of a spider web, for inspiration. Once she was ready with a plan, she presented it to her husband and the Holy People. The Holy People decided to enhance the weaving of the universe with prayers, songs, and ceremonial duties.
To continue her mission, Na’ashjé’ii Asdzáá was sent on a journey to visit the four Sacred Mountains to retrieve the tools she will need to weave. From the eastern mountain, Sisnaajiní (Blanca Peak in Colorado), she retrieved some wood to make a loom. From the southern mountain, Tsoodził (Mount Taylor in New Mexico), she harvested plants to use as dyes for the wool. From the Western Mountain, Dook’o’osłiid (San Francisco Peaks in Arizona), she asked the Thunder gods for patterns. Finally, from the last mountain, Dibé Nitsaa (Hesperus Peak in Colorado) she was given songs and prayers associated with all stages of weaving.5
When Na’ashjé’ii Asdzáá returned from her journey, she presented the wood for the loom to her husband, Na’ashjé’ii Hastiin (Spider Man). The Holy People instructed Na’ashjé’ii Hastiin how to construct a weaving loom and the weaving tools. The upper support beams and the lower support beam represent sky and Earth. The tension rods that hold the warps are made from sun rays. The shed rock and the heddle represent rock crystal and lightening. The wooden batten was made from the sun halo and the wooden comb was made from white shell. Finally, Na’ashjé’ii Hastiin created four spindles: one spindle represented the zigzag of a lightening, the second spindle represented a flash of lightening, the third spindle represented sheer lightening, and the fourth spindle represented a rain streamer.6
Na’ashjé’ii Asdzáá was instructed by the Diyin Dine’é or deities to teach the Navajos how to weave. In the glittering world, Changing Woman, Asdzáá Nádleeh, had twins, Monster Slayer and Born-of-Water, for Jóhonaa’éí. When the twins grew up, they decided to go on a journey to find their father. On this journey, the twins found a hole in the ground, so they climbed into the whole. They found Na’ashjé’ii Asdzáá weaving. By this time, Na’ashjé’ii Asdzáá had become a master weave who was fully immersed in the art. She was ready to teach the Navajos to weave to bring harmony and beauty into their lives. She gifted the Navajo Twin Warriors the knowledge of weaving to take back into the world. The gift of weaving was meant to prevent starvation, maintain comfort, and keep families together. Navajos regard their ancestors, including maternal and paternal grandparents, as Spider Woman.7
In many families, weaving is a legacy. Weaving, including the songs and prayers, are passed down between grandparents, mothers, aunts, and sisters, and sometimes passed down to men. Each family weave a little differently. Weaving differs depending on the regional style or historical period style. Current weavers incorporate contemporary pop culture and abstract style. Regardless of the style of rug, it is a family’s life’s work because it represents a connection with the universe. It represents stories, prayers, and songs embedded and preserved in the weaving motions. All weavers have stories to tell about weaving, and every weaving has stories to tell about the weaver.8
History According to Western Culture
According to Western Historians, the aesthetics of Navajo rug designs reflected the cultural changes of the American Southwest. The artistic influences of the Pueblo Indians, Hispanics, and White American Trader impacted Navajo weavers.
Around the sixteenth century, when the Spaniards explorers first met the Navajos, they were nomadic hunters and gatherers. Weaving tapestries or textiles were not part of the culture. Two events, the Pueblo Revolt of 1860 and intermarriage of Pueblos and Navajos, led the Navajos to adopt and develop the art of weaving. Basic weaving techniques and looms were given to the Navajos by the Pueblos. They also inspired early Navajo weavers to use Pueblo-stripe designs, characteristic of early Navajo weaving. Early designs were characterized by simple stripes that were well proportioned. Navajo Chief Blankets were an example of these early designs. Once the Navajos mastered the stripe designs, they began to experiment with the striped designs by grouping the stripes into zones and included other design elements.
The new designs were inspired from Mexican blankets (serapes). Navajos have been exposed to Hispanic cultures since their arrival in the southwest. The weavers incorporated diamonds and bright colors into a new design called the eye-dazzler.
The greatest changes in Navajo weaving came with the arrival of American traders in the southwest. The American government issued out licenses for trading posts in 1870 after the newly resettled Navajo reservation. When the white Americans began establishing trading posts on the Navajo Reservation, their influence on Navajo art including textiles became more profound. The completion of the Santa Fe Railroad in 1880s provided a connection between the Navajo reservation and the American Marketplace. With the railroad system in place, trading posts were able to stock new weaving materials which included machine spun and chemically dyed yarn, and introduction to Pendelton blankets. The Navajo textiles were in jeopardy when the Pendelton blankets began to replace the Navajo made blankets.
With the near extinction of Navajo blanket weaving, reservation traders had to step in. Traders were aware that Oriental Rugs were popular on the east coast, so they advised the Navajos to weave floor rugs instead of blankets. Thanks to traders Lorenzo Hubbell of Ganado, Arizona, and J. B. Moore of Crystal, New Mexico, Navajo rugs became popular. The newly designed rugs included some Navajo designs and adaptation of some oriental designs. These types of rugs continue to be woven today.
Naiomi Glasses
When Naiomi Glasses first became a TikTocs star, it wasn’t because she was recognized as a Navajo textile artist, it was because she used social media to advocate for more skate parks on the Navajo Reservation. Her brother taught her to skate to deal with bullies who made fun of her bilateral cleft lip and palate. Her hobby inadvertently led to success on social media and success in her business.
What made her standout on social media was that she featured traditional Navajo fashion in her skateboarding. Her most memorable posts that went viral was of Naiomi skating on sandstone in her hometown of Rock Point, Arizona in her Navajo traditional attire. It logged more than 1.8 million views.9 She got the attention of famous people like Tony Hawke and Jewel, who have pledge to build a transformative space for Diné Youth.10 In addition, Naiomi was able to bring awareness to indigenous cultures. She uses her platform to shed light on the positive aspects of Diné life by modeling, skateboarding, or just being herself.
Turns out that Naiomi was a seventh-generation weaver who was taught by her grandmother, Nellie Glasses, and her brother, Tyler. When Naiomi was young, she would often watch her grandmother weave. To her, there was something magical and mesmerizing about the art. Her grandmother encouraged her to weave because weaving could be a way of life. She learned to weave by completing her grandmother’s design. Once she established her abilities to weave, she started experimenting with her own designs. She allows herself the freedom to experiment with different designs.
At the age of 18, she started weaving as a career. She often sold her handwoven rugs to local trading posts. She used her money to pay for essentials like groceries and bills. As she became more experienced, she started exhibiting her rugs at Indian Markets like the Heard Museum or Santa Fe Indian Market. Her unique style included using vibrant colors. In addition, she started using social media to share her art, share techniques, and ideas. She often included snapshots of life on the reservation, which were informative and educational. The stunning pictures also provided Naiomi’s personality. On her website, she describes that her vision is to bring the beauty of her culture and fashion sense to the world so everyone can understand her love for her Diné way of life. Her love for her culture is evident in all her designs, which have expanded to bags, floor rugs, blankets, and purses. The love for her Diné culture is at the core of every product she creates.11
Her TikTok post which featured her skateboarding on sandstone elevated her presences on social media. IN addition, it gravitated towards her rug weaving. She wanted her rugs to be in every household, but it was not feasible because it took almost a whole month to complete one rug.
Once she became a social media viral sensation, she was able to collaborate with companies like Sackcloth and Ashes, to make her rug designs more affordable and accessible. Her rug designs were the foundation for the machine-made blankets. She used 100% of her proceeds to support Chizh for Cheii, which was a nonprofit organization that provided free firewood to elders on the Navajo Reservation.
Naiomi has also collaborated with other companies who use her designs for other products like carpets, shoes, and clothing. Despite all the successes, she stays true to the techniques and designs she learned from her grandmother Nellie. Some designs include Saltillo diamonds, wedge weaves, and crosses. Her unique style uses vibrant colors.
An example of her work was a rug she wove in 2020 called “Dreaming of Turquoise.” Her original woven piece was transformed into a factory-made floor rug. The rug incorporated turquoise color, the same color as Naiomi’s favorite accessory. The rug was an interpretation of her turquoise jewelry.
Elder Master Weaver Martha Gorman Schultz
Elder Master Weaver Martha Gorman Schultz from Leupp, Arizona recalls living though the United States’ Great Depression, Navajo Nation’s Livestock Reduction, and the attack on Pearl Harbor, and the subsequent World War II. These events impacted her family tremendously. She recalls the rations of food, especially flour, coffee, sugar, salt, and raisins, which were basic essentials for a Navajo family. They had to supplement their food source by grounding dried corn to make their own flour, and substituted candy for sugar.
As a child, Martha grew up herding sheep, but she looked forward to attending school at Leupp Boarding School. However, her education was interrupted when the school closed to accommodate President Roosevelt’s proclamation. It relocated and detained Japanese American in 1942. Martha’s hometown was selected as one of the camps, especially for “problem inmates.” Eighty men were detained in Leupp for offenses such as demonstrating or protesting. According to Martha, the United States government still owes her an education as promised in the Treaty of 1868.12
Martha learned how to weave at the age of 8 from her mother, Mary Gorman Clay, instead of going to school. Her first project was a 30” by 30” saddle blanket. She sold her first rug for two dollars to Leupp Trading Post. As years went by, Martha mastered traditional styles such as Crystal, Wide Ruins, Two Grey Hills, and her specialty – Storm Pattern.
The Storm Pattern is one of the older designs that tell a story. The Center of the design has four rectangles in each corner, and a central rectangle. The corner rectangles are connected to the central rectangle by a Zig Zag line. The design represents the storms of the growing season. The symbolisms in the pattern include the Four Sacred Mountains, lightning bolts, snowflakes, and water bugs. The rectangle in the four corners represent the Navajo Sacred Mountains: Sisnaajiní, Tsoodził, Dook’o’osłiid, and Dibé Nitsaa. The mountains lead to the center of the universe or home. There are often electrical charges above and below the Hogan (home for Navajos), and representation of lightning rods on left and right side. Water beetles are often represented above and below the Hogan. Sheep was an important animal for Navajo people and to the culture because it is a source of food, a source of income, and most importantly a sheep provided wool. 13
Spider Woman’s Son Gilbert Nez Begay
Balance is an important concept in the Navajo Universe. That balance extends to family and kinship roles, and the roles emulate the forces of nature that exhibit female energy or male energy. We need a balance of both energies to create harmony and beauty. When it comes to creating Navajo textiles, it is assumed that Navajo women are the only weavers. However, male weavers have always been part of our culture.
Today, there are fewer male weavers, but they achieve the same quality of rugs as their female counterparts. Gilbert Nez Begay from Crownpoint, New Mexico is one of the few male expert weavers on the reservation. He carried on the legacy of rug weaving that was passed down to him from both his maternal grandmother and paternal grandmother.
His paternal grandmother was a weaver who specialized in Teec Nos Pos Style, Two Grey Hills style, and Yei rugs. When Gilbert was a boy, he herded sheep with his grandmother near Shiprock. While they were herding sheep, she would tell Gilbert stories, while she spindled wool as the sheep grazed. One story she loved to tell was about the pound rug. Around 1900-1930, traders would trade rugs by the pound. The Rug weavers outsmarted the traders by adding fine dirt into the rug so they would weigh more. Unfortunately, traders caught on and told the weavers to bring in clean rugs.14
Gilbert’s maternal grandmother, Julia C. Thompson, from Mariano Lake, New Mexico was another mentor who taught him how to weave when he was eleven years old. She specialized in Gallup throw rugs, and Crystal style rugs. She taught him everything she knew and often corrected him when he made mistakes.
Today he is a part-time weaver who continues to spend his spare time weaving. He can weave about two inches per day. Each project can take anywhere from two weeks to three months, depending on the size and quality of the rug. In between projects he prepares yarn using wool from the Navajo Sheep Project.
His unique style is the two-face weaving, a weft faced double weave. Two-face style have completely different patterns on each side. This type of weaving is very rare and weavers who know this style are very protective of the technique. In fact, when Gilbert learned this technique from his grandmother’s neighbor, it was on the condition that he would not teach another person. The other condition was that he had to learn it in one lesson, all verbal instructions. Gilbert had to figure out the technique by doing fancy math to get the two patterns of twill to come out even.
His other specialty includes multiple twill, and diamonds. When he starts weaving, he usually does not plan them out in advance. He makes up the design as he goes using an array of patterns and pattern combinations that he learned from both grandmothers. His mastery in weaving has also allowed him to branch out to other areas of weaving. He uses his weaving skills to design rug dresses, rug vests, horse cinches, handbags, sash belts, and other functioning apparel.15
Quilt Makers
We was taught there’s so many different ways to build a quilt. You can start with a bedroom over there, or a den over here, and just add on until you get what you want. Ought not two quilts can be the same. You might use exactly the same material, but you would do if different. A lot of people make quilts just for your bed for to keep you warm. But a quilt is more. It represents safekeeping, it represents beauty, and you could say it represents family history.
Mensie Lee Pettyway, qtd. In Arnet
Quilt making tradition by African American can be traced back to colonial days. Some scholars suggest that the quilts do share certain qualities like they are colorful, casually assembled, symmetrically pieced together. The unique characteristics of African American quilts is that there is no uniform look; they are diverse in styles and techniques.16 Some are refined and subtle, and others rugged and rough. Some use vivid colors, and still some use mute colors. Some use patterns and blocks, while others had unusual patterns that they did not look like quilts. The important thing to understand about quilts is that it focuses on that particularly well-established tradition in black culture: storytelling. Black quilters tend to gravitate to the narrative form which tell of homes and families. Some document the history of the communities and political events. 17
Quilt Makers of Gee’s Bend
The quilts serve different purposes including keeping the family warm, or representing safekeeping, beauty, and family history. The quilts came into the national and international spotlight recent (2000) as works of art thanks to William Arnet. The quilts were considered a work of art and began being exhibited in museums. The art was interpreted as “modernist, abstract, painterly use of color and brilliant designing of left-over materials.” The quilts themselves use symbols to tell stories and pass down philosophical knowledge which some believe equate to demonstrate the power of a needle to a pen. In other words, the quiltmakers embed stories using the design of the quilts just like writing a story in a book using a pen. The tradition of Gee’s Bend date back to the 19th century. The quilts were influenced by Native American textiles (possibly Cherokees) and African textiles. Originally, the quilts were made for necessity; sewing together pieces of any scrap of materials and cloths to keep warm in unheated shacks. Eventually, they developed a distinct style where it did not follow a prescribed pattern, but rather figured out how to piece together sacks, pieces of old clothes, and other cloths into a quilt into simple geometric shapes.
Many quilters in Gee’s Bend area have passed down quilting to their children and grandchildren. Little girls would listen to stories as they watch their grandmothers piecing the quilts together. Some quilters easily recall the time and events of when a quilt was made. For example, a Annie Mae Young recalled doing a quilt during the Civil Rights Movement of 1965 just by looking at a photograph of a quilt she made from strips torn from a well-worn shirt and polyester pants. She even recalled the heavy rain they experienced on a winter night in 1965. She took a break from her quilting to attend a speech and march by Martin Luther King in front of a jailhouse. While waiting for King’s arrival they were slapping and singing in anticipation. However, they were placed in jail before anything happened.
Faith Ringgold
Faith Ringgold was born in Harlem, a section of New York City in 1930. Her family included her mother, Willie Edell Jones and Andrew Louis Jones, Sr. She was also had two siblings: a brother, Andrew Jr. and a sister, Barbara. When Faith was growing up, other family members would often live with them in the four-room apartment. Her mother often stood guard over the kids to make sure that the visitors did not kiss them by the mouth. Tuberculosis epidemic was running rampant in the United States in 1930s. Despite the epidemic, visitors were always welcome to dinner. The highlight of dinner was often the conversations. Her father was an effective speaker and actor. It was unforgettable about how daddy delivered his stories effectively.18 Even after mother put the children to bed, the children would often have their own conversations. Andrew often told outlandish stories which often included a boogie man story to scare the sisters. He was a talented storyteller.19
Ringgold and her siblings grew up in a time when there weren’t any televisions or computers. Reading books and listening to the radio were used as a form of entertainment. Storytelling and listening to the radio were Ringgold’s favorite form of entertainment. Listening to her favorite shows would allow her to sharpen her imagination. Sunday nights drew the family together to listen to their favorite radio shows - The Shadow, Amos and Andy, Jack Benny, and Rochester. Faith and her sibling would sit in front of the radio with their ears press to the speakers to listen to the show and let their imagination run wild. In her imagination, Faith believed that the characters in the radio shows were little, tiny people who lived in the radio.
Around the age of two, Ringgold had her first asthma attack. Asthma made it hard to breath. Gasping for breath was the most frightening experience for her. She believed her mother when she told her that no one had ever died from asthma. However, her mother was more careful with her. She understood that a certain diet had to be followed which included steaming the vegetables, broiling, baking, or boiling the meat. Her entire family had to change their diets as well to accommodate her special diet.
Because Ringgold had asthma, she spent a lot of time at home from kindergarten and first grade. She was taught by her mother at home. On the days that she was recovering from asthma attacks, her mom would prop her up in bed while she did housework. Ringgold would read, write, draw, or color in bed. She couldn’t remember a time when she was not making art. Having asthma was perfect for making art.20
While her siblings are in school, Ringgold and her mom would visit museums and parks to see paintings and prints. Sometimes they went shopping. Other days they went to see stage shows at the Paramount Theater, Roxy Theater, or Apollo Theater. Stages performances included big named starts, like Louis Armstrong or Duke Armstrong, bands, comics, dance acts, or singers.
Ringgold has always loved art, so much so that she declared to major in Art in the School of Liberal Arts at City College. Unfortunately, she found out that she could not declare a major in liberal arts because she was a woman. Because she was determined to get an art degree, she found an alternative way to get a degree in art. Instead of fighting the school, she registered in School of Education, majoring in art and minoring in education.21 This was the only way to get the degree she wanted. Although competition was intense at City College, she adapted by loving to compete. She began to learn art techniques and try out new materials in her spare time. She also took drawing and oil painting. Her most memorable moment was when she was encouraged by a male professor with a southern drawl encouraged her to give him a change to teach her. Her only experience with male with a southern drawl were the people who did not believe in equal rights for Blacks. Despite this encouraging incident, many more teachers discouraged her from being an artist. One particular teacher thought she couldn’t draw so she told her to label her art so people would know what she was drawing. Thankfully, she never gave up.22
Ringgold finally decided to take her art seriously in 1960 so she took her collections of paintings that featured trees and flowers in “French” colors. However, her artwork was rejected because she did not have a style or inspiration. She decided to try again in 1963 with a series called “Super Realism.” This time her art would center on the Civil Rights Movement and the events related to Blacks at that time. The first set of paintings was the American People Series. She wanted her painting to reflect the Civil Rights Movements from a woman’s point of view. She spent a lot of time trying to find her voice, talking to herself through art, to communicate with others. However, art critics and galleries felt that her artwork was too extreme. Her exhibition was described as limiting itself to the study of black values.23
Ringgold’s art was influenced by studying the styles of old master artists like Leonardo De Vinci and Vincent Van Gogh. In addition, she was drawn into African Art so she learned about it, specifically the patterns and colors and rhythms. Eventually she started experimenting with other art medium including prints, masks, soft sculptures, mosaic, and author. She always wanted to create art based on her life and experiences as an African American woman living in New York.
Bisa Butler
Bisa Butler was born in Orange, New Jersey. She grew up as the youngest daughter of a French teacher and College President. She developed her interest in art at a young age. In fact, she won her first art competition when she was just four years old. She graduated from Columbia High School in 1991. Butler majored in fine arts at Howard University. Her chosen art medium in college was painting, but she felt that it was not for her. Eventually, she started working with fabric and making collages. She was inspired to use quilting as an art medium when she worked for her master’s degree in Montclair State University. When she was a child, she watched her mother and grandmother sew quilts. They taught her how to sew, and she had been quilting since. For her final project she replicated a photo using quilting format, a new form of quilting.24 She is using a quilting method to create powerful portraits of African men and women. Instead of a paint brush and canvas, she is using needle and vibrant colored fabrics to create her portraits. Her subject matter is chosen from historical or vintage photographs that are transformed so much in her artistry that the original photo transformed through cloth and colors. Butler remains keenly aware of her inextricable connection to the rich cultural heritage of quilt production that has informed American identity more broadly and African American identity in particular.25
When Butler started off as an artist, quilt making was not considered as fine art, but rather a craft. According to Bisa Butler, she believed that historically, quilt making was often marginalized because it was work of women and work of people of color. Furthermore, it was considered as domestic labor26.
However, her portrait quilts have changed how quilts are viewed as craft to art. Her objective is for quilts to tell a story using Kente, which is a special hand-woven cloth using strips of silk and cotton. Her subjects are often decorated with cloth of African American ancestors. She incorporates African textiles, but also expands on quilting traditions.
Butler’s portrait quilt captures the stories of who people are and who they want to be27. Her subjects are real life figures of African American people she finds online and in databases. She tries to give them back their identity by capturing their stories and transforming them into quilts. In the process of making the quilt, she makes sure she takes care of her subjects. Her artwork creates an intimacy because the subjects appear to be looking at you. This intimacy begins a conversation between the subject and the observer. When people look at her artwork, she wants them to see the humanities in it. The message to everyone is that we are all human beings who have the same wants, desires, love, and fears. When black people see her art, she wants them to see themselves, and realize that she recognizes who they are. They are the same.28
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