Navajo Textiles Notecard Folio

The collections of the National Museum of the American Indian include more than 800 Navajo textiles. The earliest of these range from striped textiles made during the early nineteenth century to notable “wearing” blankets that illustrate the beauty of pieces woven by Navajo women for use within their own families. With the arrival of the railroads, which brought soldiers, tourists, and other visitors to the Navajo area beginning in the 1880s, many weavers began to commercially produce simpler or more quickly woven textiles, including rugs and smaller pieces. At the early-twentieth-century height of production, these were sold through trading posts and other middlemen. Contemporary Navajo weavers have taken inspiration from all these traditions, reintroducing vegetal dyes, fine weaving, and personal artistry.