Anasazi Heritage Center Hosts Navajo Textile Exhibit

Spectacular weavings from a nearby community are on display at the Anasazi Heritage Center’s Special Exhibit Gallery. They were created in the region surrounding Teec Nos Pos, Arizona, in the northeast corner of the Navajo Nation, about 5 miles from the Four Corners. The exhibit is on loan from the Farmington Museum through September 25, 2005

Central to the exhibit’s creation is Kathleen Foutz, whose family has been involved with area trading posts for generations. She assembled this family collection, including some unusually large weavings, which spans the period from about 1910 through the end of the 20th century.

In 1905, Hamp Noel and Eva Foutz established the original trading post at Teec Nos Pos, a Navajo name meaning “cottonwood trees in a circle.” Since that time, four generations of the Foutz family have managed trading posts in Teec Nos Pos, Shiprock, and Farmington, New Mexico.

Teec Nos Pos weavings are often very large, and usually contain a variety of outlined shapes within an elaborate border. This regional style emphasizes intricate, symmetric geometric designs saturated with color, but these characteristics have evolved with time. Some design elements may show the influence of Oriental rugs that the weavers saw in traders’ picture books. Weavings created before about 1940 usually had a muted color scheme. Later, modern dyes introduced bright hues to the weaver’s palette.

Early 20th century weavings used homespun wool, but improved roads and transportation systems brought commercially-processed yarn within reach of Teec Nos Pos. While many artists continue to use commercial yarn today, there is also a resurgence of interest in the old ways. Some modern weavers carry on the traditions of using vegetal dyes and hand-processed wool.

The art of Navajo weaving seems to be alive and well in the 21st century. One weaver says “I do it out of pride, because my mother did and my grandmother did. I want to do it to carry on tradition.”

The Bureau of Land Management Anasazi Heritage Center is open daily from 9am to 5pm. The museum is located 3 miles west of Dolores, Colorado. The museum also serves as the visitor information center for Canyons of the Ancients National Monument. A $3 admission fee is charged for adults, 17 and under and Golden Pass holders are free. Special exhibits and events are made possible through visitor donations and entry fees under the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act. For more information, call the Center at (970) 882-5600.

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