Navajo Chief's Weaving Blankets

Navajo; Chief’s blanket Navajo people have been around for centuries and throughout their existence they have been creating art. Living through tough times, the Spanish in the 16th century and the expanding population of the United States in the 1800s, they have been effected by it all and have made their own mark in the art world. One popular craft done by the Navajo was weaving blankets. Navajo women were the weavers and came up with the design patterns that showed the woman’s own idea of beauty, while making the blankets. Over time those patterns have stayed the same but more designs have been added with the influences of the Spanish and the Pueblo people, and even European styles. This is a blanket woven by Navajo women in 1895. The …show more content…
They learned how to weave from their neighbors, the Pueblo, using domestic cotton and native grass. But in the 16th century when the Spanish started exploring the area they started to restrict all the traditional arts done by the Navajo and the Pueblo. The Navajo went to the high deserts of the canyons, in what is now New Mexico. During this time span the Navajos were weaving blankets with influence from the Spanish and Pueblo, but in 1680s the Pueblo revolted against the Spanish and the Spanish were forced to leave. This caused the blanket weaving designs to decrease for a few years. Eventually, the Spanish came back and with that the Navajo weavers became more equipped with different design variations. Weaving started to incorporate designs such as stepped triangles, diamonds, serrated patterns and colorful stripes. Soon the Navajo started working with colors from natural dyes and as well as a rewoven thread “Bayeta” (bright red wool of flannel consistency from England). They also started unraveling other blankets and clothing to develop a variety of …show more content…
In the first phase, the blankets were decorated with, typically, three red, sometimes indigo, patterned stripes between broad black and white stripes. There are not any shapes during this phase though. The second phase is just a small time period that transitions the simple design to the more elaborate designs in phase three. In the third phase the wide black and white bands were still used. Along with stepped triangles on the corners, sides, and the center and ends. A lot of colors were used but red and indigo are the common ones. Because this design style was liked so much the Navajo continued using the