For Immediate Release: June 2009

Contact: Shanna Downey, 505.863.3192

For a complete schedule, visit www.navajolifeway.org

13 Annual Sheep is Life Celebration

Free Events & Fun for the Whole Family

Friday and Saturday, 19-20 June 2009

Navajo Preparatory School Campus, 1220 West Apache, Farmington, NM

9:00 a.m. Welcome and Opening Remarks

Edison Wauneka, Chair, Navajo Preparatory School Board

9 a.m. – 4 p.m. Ongoing Activities

Hands-on Demonstrations

Dibé Nitsaa Guild and Four Corners Weavers Guild

activities include the “Sheep to Loom” and “Sheep to Shawl” steps –

skirting, carding, washing, dyeing, spinning and weaving

experience both the Navajo and the European styles of wool processing

Navajo-Churro Sheep Association Hospitality Tent.

Share, spin, and learn more about the Navajo-Churro Sheep.

Sheep Story Booth, Lore of the Land.

Record stories, family memories, and oral history about all things sheep. All ages and all cultures welcomed. Participants receive a copy of their recording.

4-H Youth Camp. Felix Nez, Diné College Land Grant Program.

Youth and Elders Day. 4-H Sheep Show. Wool grading with Patricia Quintana.

Workshops and Lectures.

Check at the Information Booth for specific locations.

10 a.m. The Future of Fort Wingate Southwestern Sheep Breeding Laboratory. Dr. Lyle McNeal. Learn about the plans for creating a sheep heritage site at historic Fort Wingate, New Mexico, 15 miles east of Gallup. Find out how to support the vision for Dine’, Hispanic, and Anglo sheep and wool cultures of the Four Corners Region.

10 a.m.- 2 p.m. Financial recordkeeping for sheep producers, farmers and ranchers. Tilda Woody. Many sheep producers and weavers do not receive the benefits they deserve. Learn how to keep records and qualify for refunds and tax breaks.

10 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Horse Therapy Program. Prunell Charley and Brian Johnson.

Learn about Sage Memorial Hospital’s new program using horses as a tool for outreach therapy. Discuss the potential for a Sheep Therapy program.

11 a.m. Flock Recordkeeping and Genetic Management. Bonnie Barcus and Sam Cunningham

1 p.m. “To Walk in Beauty: A Navajo Family’s Journey Home.” Stacia Spragg-Braude.

Slide show and lecture on this new book, published by Museum of New Mexico Press.

1 p.m. Ram Breeding Soundness Examination and Its Importance. Dr. Lyle McNeal.

Presentation about the pre-breeding season evaluation of a ram or rams for your flock and it’s value to the sheep producer.

2 p.m. Field Inspection and Registration. Jim Keyes.

Demonstration of the registration process for Navajo-Churro sheep, including required records, paperwork, and photos..

3 p.m. Weavers Roundtable. Joyce Begay-Foss, Chair, Indian Arts and Crafts Board.

Discussion on Navajo weaving: Marketing and impact of imported imitation textiles. Open dialog on concerns of weavers. Review of Indian Arts and Crafts Board source directory for Native American artists.

5 – 7 p.m. Hogan Storytelling, open session.

7:30 – 8:30 p.m. 4-H Youth Hogan Storytelling.

5 – 7 p.m. Film Showing on DVD. “Gift of Talking God.”

8 a.m. – noon. Fiber Artist: Check-in your work for the Auction, Eagle Gym.

8 – 10 a.m. Navajo-Churro Sheep Association meeting. Everyone welcomed.

9 a.m. – 4 p.m. Ongoing Activities

Hands-on Demonstrations

Dibé Nitsaa Guild and Four Corners Weavers Guild

activities include the “Sheep to Loom” and “Sheep to Shawl” steps –

skirting, carding, washing, dyeing, spinning and weaving

experience both the Navajo and the European styles of wool processing

Navajo-Churro Sheep Association Hospitality Tent

Share, spin, and learn more about the Navajo-Churro Sheep.

Van of Enchantment, Museum of New Mexico

New Mexico Trails and Tales, an exhibit with touchable items and authentic artifacts that tell the stories of ancient trails and modern roads; with a focus on sheep in the Four Corners region.

4-H Youth Camp. Felix Nez, Diné College Land Grant Program.

Exhibits and activities for youth exploring agriculture.

Saturday Workshops, Lectures, and Shows.

Check at the Information Booth for specific locations.

8 a.m. – noon. Navajo Sheep Ceremony. Anderson Hoskie, Medicine Man.

9 a.m. Diné Binaahalye’e Bibee Haaz’áanii. Robert Yazzie, Diné Policy Institute.

Roundtable discussion with former Navajo Supreme Court Chief Justice on integrating Navajo traditional law, culture, and philosophy into Navajo legal and legislative systems.

10 a.m. – 6 p.m. Hogan open for storytelling and impromptu gatherings

10 a.m. Navajo-Churro Fleece Show. Judged by Connie Taylor, with “Spinner’s Choice” selected by Sarah Natani and TahNibaa Naataanii. Ribbons and awards.

11 a.m. Harvesting Rainwater Seminar. Hank Stevens.

How to catch rainwater from existing structures and store for future use. Examples from Navajo Mountain project. Handouts with construction plans, materials, and costs.

1 p.m. Navajo-Churro Sheep Show. Judged by Dr. Lyle McNeal.

Ribbons and awards. Special Class for Mature Ewes and Senior Navajo Shepherdesses.

2 – 4 p.m. Fiber Arts Auction Preview and Reception. Eagle Gym

Joyce Begay-Foss, Consumer Buyers Workshop. How to purchase authentic Navajo textiles.

Auction Preview Reception sponsored by Navajo-Churro Sheep Association.

7 p.m. Navajo Fiber Arts Auction. Eagle Gym

Everyone welcome. No entry fee or charge for bid cards. Navajo artists receive 90% of sales price; 10% commission benefits Teec Nos Pos Youth Program and DBI programs.

5 p.m. Saturday, Eagle Gym. Doors open at 4:30 p.m.

Chef Walter Whitewater, Red Mesa Cuisine.

Tickets required. $30 in advance; $35 at the door.

Sheep is Life is a program of Diné be’ iiná, Inc., a nonprofit organization incorporated in the Navajo Nation and federally tax-exempt under Section 501c3 of the IRS Code.

The Celebration is an official event of the International Year of Natural Fibers.

PO Box 683, Window Rock, AZ 86515

505.863.3192 www.navajolifeway.org

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Elder Navajo Shepherdesses to be Recognized at the Sheep is Life Celebration

Navajo Shepherdesses of senior citizen age are invited to bring their mature ewes to compete in a special class at the Navajo-Churro Sheep Show on Saturday, June 20, at the 13^th Annual Sheep is Life Celebration in Farmington, New Mexico. The purpose is to honor elder shepherdesses who maintain the Navajo Sheep Culture and Philosophy. Ewes must be over four years of age; the exhibitor must be a senior citizen and the owner of the sheep. Awards for this class are sponsored by Dr. Lyle McNeal, founder of the Navajo Sheep Project.

Shepherdesses and their mature ewes can register on Saturday, June 20, between noon and 1:00 p.m. at the Navajo Preparatory School Campus, 1220 West Apache Street, in Farmington.

The Sheep Show takes place from 1:00 – 3:00 p.m. All Navajo-Churro sheep producers are welcomed to enter in over six classes of rams, ewes, and lambs. Ribbons include first through fourth place in each class, with plaques sponsored by La Plata Farms for the Grand and Reserve Champions. Entry information is available at www.navajolifeway.org, or call 505-863-3192.

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Navajo Fiber Arts Auction:

Navajo weavers and fiber artists are invited to submit work for the Sheep is Life Auction, to be held Saturday, June 20, in Farmington, New Mexico. Weavings and fiber arts must be 100 percent wool; work made from hand processed wool in natural colors and vegetal dyes are preferred. Artists receive 90 percent of the sales price; five percent benefits Teec Nos Pos Youth Programs and five percent supports Sheep is Life. Submit weavings and fiber arts to the Auction Committee on Saturday, June 20, between 8:00 a.m. and noon at the Eagle Gym on Navajo Preparatory School Campus, 1220 West Apache Street, Farmington, New Mexico. The Auction begins at 7:00 p.m.

The public is invited to an Auction Preview Reception from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, hosted by the Navajo-Churro Sheep Association. Joyce Begay-Foss will answer questions from buyers and artists about the special qualities that identify authentic Navajo textiles. Bid cards and admission to the auction are free. Visit www.navajolifeway.org for a complete schedule, or call 505-863-3192.

Window Rock, AZ Yesterday, our class took the afternoon off to visit Toadlena and Two Grey Hills, about 70 miles northeast of Window Rock.  We took one of my favorite routes: north on Indian Route 12, east on New Mexico 134 over Narbona Pass and then north on 491 before making a turn toward Toadlena and Two Grey Hills. At Toadlena, trader Mark Winter brought out three historic blankets that he’s acquired and allowed us to examine them.  One was a spectacular Chief Blanket dating from the time of the Civil War.  The red color is raveled bayeta and the blue is from indigo.  It was interesting to see the variations in the red color as the weaver worked to acquire enough yarn to complete her project.  You can see pictures of Mark modeling the blanket below.

Back view of Civil War era Chief Blanket.

Front view, modeled by Mark Winter of Toadlena Trading Post.

We also saw a woman’s manta wearing blanket from the same period.  It featured a point twill band at the beginning and end of the blanket that was just beautiful and something I haven’t seen before.  There’s a picture below:

The blanket in the top part of the picture is also raveled bayeta and features a unique twill band.

Finally, here’s a picture of Mark visiting with our group.

Mark Winter (left) and Linda Larouche (facing away) visit with our weavers. You can see Debi Ward (facing to the left) and Diana Frawley (right).

Before we returned to Window Rock we also stopped to visit Two Grey Hills Trading Post, where trader Les Wilson graciously opened  the store (closed for Columbus Day) and showed us his rug room and where lLes’ wife, Irma Henderson,  sold us some of her meticulously washed current year Navajo-Churro clip.  I’ve been spinning up some of the wool that I bought last week and I’ve been able to get some nice yarn even though I don’t have any carders with me!  Some of our current students are interested in spinning, so we may get some hip spindle lessons in before the end of the week.  I’ll include some pictures of the their project later today.

Mary Walker

Today, six members of our class went to Canyon de Chelly for a half-day tour. The weather was perfect and we had a great time guided by David Benally, who has been taking people through the canyon for 29 years. You can see David pointing out some of the features of the canyon below.

Thunderbird Lodge guide David Benally in Canyon de Chelly.

The canyon is a wonderland of rock formations, rock art and Anasazi ruins that is also the summer home of many Navajo people.  Some of the rock art depicts the canyon’s history through the eyes of the early Navajo inhabitants.  You can see a close-up of the Spanish mural below.  This mural depicts the arrival of Spanish soldiers who would massacre many of the Navajos living in the Canyon in the early 1800’s.

The Spanish Mural in Canyon de Chelly was painted by Navajo inhabitants and is thought to depict the arrival of Spanish soldiers who would massacre many Navajos.

We drove back to WIndow Rock via the north rim of the canyon and arrived back in Window Rock at about 4 PM.  Diane Craig and Mary Falzone, who had stayed in Window Rock with Jennie Slick have been working hard and we found them well into the last third of the their weaving.  Below, you’ll see Mary’s piece in the late afternoon.

Mary Falzone's weaving was moving into it's last third this evening.

Diane Craig is working on her last half inch of weaving and will probably complete her rug tomorrow, which is a record for our classes.  She was inspired by a Nellie Glasses handspun rug and is planning to use the completed project as a pillow cover.

Diane Craig works on the last two inches of her weaving.

Jennie Slick is also finishing a small weaving on her portable loom and you can see her below with Cheryl Griffin.

Jennie Slick (left) is also finishing a piece on her C-Cactusflower loom. Cheryl Griffin works on her loom at right.

You’ll see pictures of the completed weavings tomorrow!

Jennie Slick and I are in Albuquerque on our way to do a three day workshop in Massachusetts.  Just before I left Phoenix, I washed and rinsed some custom yarns for the students to look at.  One group of them was dyed with cochineal.  There’s a picture of the grouping below.  Isn’t it amazing that one dyestuff can yield this many colors?   These are only a few of the results that you can get with these amazing critters, who are just stuffed with carminic acid.

All cochineal! Clockwise from lower left, high concentration dyebath with cream of tartar, late dyebath with tin mordant, ammonia afterbath, high percentage tin mordant

Many authorities say that the Navajos didn’t dye with cochineal; that they only used raveled threads, sometimes recarding them.  Others, such as Kate Peck Kent and Joe Ben Wheat thought that they could identify Navajo handspun that had been dyed with cochineal.  I’m interested in following up on this to see if there’s a definitive answer, and I’ll fill you in on my results.

Building on yesterday’s post on the Storm Pattern variant, the earliest illustration that shows what today we would call a Storm Pattern rug comes from J.B. Moore’s 1911 catalog.  The rug is plate XXIII and a reproduction of the color plate appears below.

The illustration shows a Storm Pattern that is little different in design from contemporary examples.  Moore said “This pattern is one of the really legendary designs embodying a portion of the Navajo mythology.  Not many weavers will do it for superstitious reasons and on that account its production is practically confined to one family or clan. “  Moore went on to state that the design was a variation on an earlier catalog design and to explain he was hoping that by documenting the design, he could influence other weavers to produce it because of heavy demand.

Whether Moore succeeded in getting increased production of the design isn’t known (although the Storm Pattern is one of the most commonly available designs today), but his catalog influenced other weavers and traders, who produced variations of the patterns, sometimes with their own regional adaptations.  About 50 miles away in the Two Grey Hills area, for instance, Ed Daves at the Two Grey Hills Trading Post and George Bloomfield at Toadlena were having the Moore plates made up in the natural shades of wool that the area is famous for.  If you look at the rug below you can see the similarity to the Moore catalog plate, even to the layout of the border.

The connection of the pattern to Navajo mythology probably has some validity, but it is difficult to establish because of variations in regional, familial and personal interpretation.  There is one school of thought that attributes the development of the pattern entirely to clever marketing on J.B. Moore’s part.  I believe,  as Teresa Wilkins has also observed in her recent book, Patterns of Exchange, that this denies the ultimate ability of the weaver to determine the final design of the textile and introduce a personal component into the ultimate product.  The Two Grey Hills Storm is a perfect example in that it differs in a few key areas from the Moore catalog plate.

When asked to talk about the Storm Pattern, weavers variously describe the central motif as the center of the universe, the hogan (the traditional Navajo dwelling) or a lake.  The four corner motifs may be called the four sacred mountains, the four directions or the four winds.  In rugs woven prior to 1930, motifs appear which may be referred to as swastikas, whirling logs or whirlwinds.   These motifs have no relationship at all to the German Nazi party, and they were eliminated from Navajo rugs during the early 1930’s because of the Nazi appropriation of the symbol, a fact which helps to establish an upper bracket on the time when a rug was woven.

The broken line elements are often referred to as lightning and rain, and the six lined diamond elements within the rug are nearly always referred to as water bugs or piñon beetles.

You may see that these early rugs don’t have a spirit line, but the rug woven in natural colors contains an apparently intentional opening that is often referred to as a “Spiderwoman hole” (see picture below), a weaving practice that seems to have originated when the Navajos were incarcerated at Ft. Sumner, New Mexico during the period from 1864 to 1868.  Reportedly, these small gaps were placed in wearing blankets to allow covert observation of the wearer’s surroundings.  When these holes are present in early period rugs, they are thought to be an early form of spirit line, a means of releasing the weaver from the borders of the weaving, allowing her to move to her next rug. 

Everyone says that you shouldn’t send people straight to other websites, but I think that you’ll really enjoy listening to Bruce Burnham tell you a short (1 minute and 13 seconds) story about the development of the Storm Pattern rug.  I do the Burnham’s web site and this discussion got started when Bruce said the rug below was a Storm Pattern variant.   Listen to Bruce tell the story.

Bruce Burnham contends that this is an early Storm Pattern vairant, and he's got an interesting story that ties into that opinion.