For travelers passing through northern Navajo country, the desert
landscape appears desolate. The few remaining Navajo trading posts,
once famous for their bustling commerce, seem unimpressive. Yet a
closer look at the economic and creative activity in this region,
which straddles northeastern Arizona, northwestern New Mexico, and
southeastern Utah, belies a far more interesting picture. In
Traders, Agents, and Weavers, Robert S. McPherson unveils the
fascinating-and at times surprising-history of the merging of
cultures and artistic innovation across this land. McPherson, the
author of numerous books on Navajo and southwestern history,
narrates here the story of Navajo economic and cultural development
through the testimonies of traders, government agents, tribal
leaders, and accomplished weavers. For the first half of the
twentieth century, trading posts dominated the Navajo economy in
northwestern New Mexico. McPherson highlights the Two Grey Hills
post and its sister posts Toadlena and Newcomb, which encouraged
excellence among weavers and sold high-quality rugs and blankets.
Parallel to the success of the trading industry was the
establishment of the Northern Navajo or Shiprock Agency and
Boarding School. The author explains the pivotal influence on the
area of the agency's stern and controversial founder, William T.
Shelton, known by Navajos as Tall Leader. Through cooperation with
government agents, American settlers, and traders, Navajo weavers
not only succeeded financially but also developed their own
artistic crafts. Shunning the use of brightly dyed yarn and opting
for the natural colors of sheep's wool, these weavers, primarily
women, developed an intricate style that has few rivals.
Eventually, economic shifts, including oil drilling and livestock
reduction, eroded the traditional Navajo way of life and led to the
collapse of the trading post system. Nonetheless, as McPherson
emphasizes, Navajo weavers have maintained their distinctive style
and method of production to this day.
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