Weaving in Beauty

Weavers and Traders: A New Study by Teresa Wilkins

21st July 2008

Weavers and Traders: A New Study by Teresa Wilkins

posted in It's All About the Rugs, Trading Posts, Weavers and Their Stories |

Patterns of Exchang, Navajo Weavers and TradersTeresa J. Wilkins of the University of New Mexico, Gallup has taken up the highly charged subject of the relationship between weavers and traders in her new book, Patterns of Exchange: Navajo Weavers and Traders. I’m just getting started reading it, but I like Dr. Wilkins approach, which analyzes the complex ways in which both weavers and traders gained from the process.

Many people believe that the trader holds all the power in a system designed to exploit and manipulate the weaver.  As Wilkins points out early in her work, this view assumes that weavers lack the will and initiative to attempt to overcome any inequities.   A trader can be so integral to a community that if he leaves a trading post, it’s front page news.  As one of my friends wisely observed, “it can be hard for outside people to understand how a trader balances his books”.

I’ll write a more thorough review when I complete the book.  It’s available from Amazon if you want to purchase a copy.

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This entry was posted on Monday, July 21st, 2008 at 10:35 pm and is filed under It's All About the Rugs, Trading Posts, Weavers and Their Stories. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

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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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