The Navajo rugs and textiles that people admire and buy today
are the result of many historical influences, particularly the
interaction between Navajo weavers and the traders who guided their
production and controlled their sale. John Lorenzo Hubbell and
other late-nineteenth-century traders were convinced they knew
which patterns and colors would appeal to Anglo-American buyers,
and so they heavily encouraged those designs. In "Patterns of
Exchange, " Teresa J. Wilkins traces how the relationships between
generations of Navajo weavers and traders affected Navajo
weaving.
The Navajos valued their relationships with Hubbell and others
who operated trading posts on their reservation. As a result, they
did not always see themselves as exploited victims of a capitalist
system. Rather, because of Navajo cultural traditions of
gift-giving and helping others, the artists slowly adapted some of
the patterns and colors the traders requested into their own
designs. By the 1890s, Hubbell and others commissioned paintings
depicting particular weaving styles and encouraged Navajo weavers
to copy them, reinforcing public perceptions of traditional Navajo
weaving. Even the Navajos came to revere certain designs as "the
weaving of the ancestors."
Enhanced by numerous illustrations, including eight color
plates, this volume traces the intricate play of cultural and
economic pressures and personal relationships between artists and
traders that guided Navajo weavers to produce textiles that are
today emblems of the Native American Southwest.
"Winner - Multi-cultural Subject, New Mexico Book Awards"
General
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