Ye'ii designs, featuring Navajo deities, appeared in weavings for the first time. With over 220,000 members, the Navajo nation is the largest American Indian group. While most of the reservation remains rural, many households are moving away from the traditional subsistence of herding and farming. Both on and off the reservation, women today can choose between weaving and many other jobs to support themselves, yet those who choose to weave are growing in number. Weaving allows them to express their own ideas, and provides a balance between their spiritual and physical beings.
Weavers continue to adapt, innovate and create their art within a traditional framework.
While regional styles persist, individual weavers have become known by name. In creating fine tapestries as wall hangings, rather than as floor coverings, the weaver approaches her work as a professional artist. Designs have become increasingly complex, and the dye palette more extensive. Read more about the Bruce Museum in Resource Library Magazine . Be sure to visit more of Resource Library Magazine with museum exhibition news, stories on American art, calendars, and more.