Weaving in Beauty

Back to the City: Looking Back and Looking Forward

25th August 2008

Back to the City: Looking Back and Looking Forward

posted in It's All About the Rugs, Spinning a Yarn |

Like a lot of people in Diné Bikeyah (the Navajo homeland), I have a job back in a city.   I do my rug repairs and appraisals in the Phoenix area.  I’m not Navajo, but I feel the pull of both cultures as I get ready to leave Window Rock and return to Phoenix.  I have quite a few Navajo friends who consider me what people around here call an “in-law”, someone who is familiar with Navajo culture and who participates in many community and family events.

Here in Window Rock, I’m helping to organize the Navajo Fiber Arts Center and working on future classes.  One of my closest friends is having a ceremony this coming week and I’m trying to figure out if I can get back here to participate, but I feel the pull of the rugs that are waiting patiently for me to fix them so I’ll have to sort out the conflicts.  People around here do it all the time as we do our best to live in two cultures. When you think about it, the textiles do that too.  They have their roots here in the Navajo homeland, but they bring harmony and pleasure to the people who acquire them and take them far away.

Navajo people refer to this tuffaceous olivene rich sandstone formation as the Snake Rock.

Navajo people refer to this tuffaceous olivene rich sandstone formation as the Snake Rock.

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    Latest on Mon, 04:10 pm

    Raymon: I have a blanket simialr to the pink blanket. My dad's family had sheep. Every year they would gather the wool and take it to Utah Woolen mills and make beautiful wool blankets. Similar to Pendleton blankets, in many different colors. Love the turquoise jewlrey. My mom has a big beaded bag of it that I hope I get a few peices of (she's half Native American) She finds it kind of amusing that Native American prints etc. are "in" right now.

    Remigio: Way to go, Navajo Nation! Either cease-and-desist, or collect roiaetyls for the use of your name (only on quality products of which you approve, of course). Same with sports teams that use Native names as mascots. Until recently, the University of North Dakota was paying the Standing Rock Sioux annual roiaetyls to use the name Fighting Sioux , which was a win-win and a source of pride for both parties. Unfortunately for both the Tribe and the university, political correctness put an end to that.

    Ann Puzio: Hi Mary, Need to change to the waiting list for 9/13-20th. I hope this is possible.Also, going to see if I can sign up for the online class, need to check my computer. Thanks ann

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