The Navajo people are indigenous to the United States and have a rich and complex culture. The mass genocide of the Navajo between 1863 and 1864 forced the tribe out of their native land and into disease-riddled reservations. The tribe was terrorized through biological, cultural, and physical warfare (Laljani 2020, 19-22). Basket-making and the basket dance are fundamental aspects of Navajo culture and acknowledge significant life events within the Navajo tribe. One’s life and experiences can be tracked through the intricate weaving of each basket (Mozdy 2017). The tribe was stripped of their spiritual, religious, cultural, and artistic values through colonialism. Art forms like the basket dance and basket weaving were abandoned for many years
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Locations in New Mexico like the Cochiti Pueblo see performances of the basket dance, which involves the process of presenting the basket and a woman’s transition into adulthood. Baskets can chronicle the lives of tribe members and are used to mark important life events within the tribe. They can mark new creations of life, family, and marriage” (Howe 2007, 71). The basket dance was presented at the Library of Congress in 2005 along with an educational presentation. Men of the tribe in traditional clothing including red and black pants with colorful patterning played percussive instruments while singing to accompany the dancers. Women wearing blue, red, and black traditional dresses with dangling fabric tied to their arms and colorful necklaces held a basket out in front of them. They shuffled, hopped, pranced, and jogged from circular to linear formations. The dancers pulled their baskets into their chests and reached them away, moving them in diagonal patterns as they changed facings, turned around one another, and pivoted in a pinwheel formation. The dance ended with the dancers prancing or jogging towards the men to exit the …show more content…
The basket and the basket dance were among those that were obliterated during and following the Long Walk. Dance is fundamental to rituals and ceremonies within the tribe, and without it, basket weaving, and various spiritual practices dwindled (Buckland 1893, 346-355). Following the Long Walk, basket weaving, and the ceremony of the basket dance nearly came to an end. In the 1970s, there appeared to be a market for the baskets and an interest in buyers in Arizona and Utah. The art form seems to be one for trade or a tourist attraction. However, in Douglas Mesa, families kept the tradition alive. Natives like Mary Holiday Black revitalize basket weaving as a medium for cultural, spiritual, religious, and mythological expression of the tribe. She depicted Ye’ii, spiritual beings that were sent to work for healing, peace, and balance. Wedding baskets tell stories through symbolism in their colors, shapes, and patterns. One’s life, community, family, and culture can be interpreted through the intricacy of each wedding basket. Mary used her modern designs to depict the fire dance and other chants and ceremonies to recall past ceremonies of the
Locations in New Mexico like the Cochiti Pueblo see performances of the basket dance, which involves the process of presenting the basket and a woman’s transition into adulthood. Baskets can chronicle the lives of tribe members and are used to mark important life events within the tribe. They can mark new creations of life, family, and marriage” (Howe 2007, 71). The basket dance was presented at the Library of Congress in 2005 along with an educational presentation. Men of the tribe in traditional clothing including red and black pants with colorful patterning played percussive instruments while singing to accompany the dancers. Women wearing blue, red, and black traditional dresses with dangling fabric tied to their arms and colorful necklaces held a basket out in front of them. They shuffled, hopped, pranced, and jogged from circular to linear formations. The dancers pulled their baskets into their chests and reached them away, moving them in diagonal patterns as they changed facings, turned around one another, and pivoted in a pinwheel formation. The dance ended with the dancers prancing or jogging towards the men to exit the …show more content…
The basket and the basket dance were among those that were obliterated during and following the Long Walk. Dance is fundamental to rituals and ceremonies within the tribe, and without it, basket weaving, and various spiritual practices dwindled (Buckland 1893, 346-355). Following the Long Walk, basket weaving, and the ceremony of the basket dance nearly came to an end. In the 1970s, there appeared to be a market for the baskets and an interest in buyers in Arizona and Utah. The art form seems to be one for trade or a tourist attraction. However, in Douglas Mesa, families kept the tradition alive. Natives like Mary Holiday Black revitalize basket weaving as a medium for cultural, spiritual, religious, and mythological expression of the tribe. She depicted Ye’ii, spiritual beings that were sent to work for healing, peace, and balance. Wedding baskets tell stories through symbolism in their colors, shapes, and patterns. One’s life, community, family, and culture can be interpreted through the intricacy of each wedding basket. Mary used her modern designs to depict the fire dance and other chants and ceremonies to recall past ceremonies of the