Perspectives on Navajo Weaving Has Changed Over Time
...n wove, the poorer they became”. M’Closkey researched the records of traders, trading posts, Diné weavers and other sources and found that the beliefs that were considered proven truths (i.e. “traders ‘saved’ weaving”, “traders were primarily responsible for design changes in Navajo Patterns”, “Selling blankets by weight declined after 1900”, “Machine woven trade blankets were far cheaper than their hand-woven counterparts”, and “traders greatest profits lay in wool”) are now brought back to light for further examination. M’Closkey uncovers a well documented history, long hidden from the general public, which is damning evidence that those beliefs are now doubtful. Other Perspectives Anglo anthropologists or museum curators have their own ideas about Navajo weaving. These “social scientists” take each weaving and catalog them by design, era, and materials – totally desanctifying the “manifestation of K’e”! How can one treat such a sacred weaving, an expression of religion and culture, as a quantifiable science? M’Closkey states “Adherence to such a research regime informed by an epistemology that splits cultural pattern from commodity has had devastating consequences for the Navajo people”. This means that the weavers’ views of their work are marginalized when the work is treated as “arts and crafts” and when culture is split from the “commodity”. Diné Perspectives M’Closkey states that “not only have weavers’ economic contributions been airbrushed from history, but researchers…have failed to recognize the critical role that weaving played in relation to cultural survival.” This states that even if the non-Navajo traders cheated the Navajo weavers and robbed them of their monetary wealth, they could not steal the intellectual and traditional significance that weaving has had on the Navajo way of life. This perspective is important to pass on so that we as Navajo’s know the reasons why we continue with traditions despite the implications it makes in the economic arena. One might say, “Why do we continue to weave and weave when we keep being taken advantage of?” It is ingrained in our culture, from our first mother, Changing Woman. It is what she taught us and it is our duty to pass it down to our children to keep the Navajo tradition alive forever. M’Closkey states “We, the Navajo women must know the role and traditions of Navajo cult...