Industrial and Artistic Technology


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Navajo mother teaching weaving


The Artistic Industry


From: Iverson, Peter. "Navajo." Encyclopedia Americana. 2009. Grolier Online. 11 Apr. 2009 <http://ea.grolier.com/cgi-bin/article?assetid=0282610-00>.
· Adapted many other tribes’ artistic practices to make them their own including:
· Silversmiths, potters, basket weavers, painters, folk artists, musicians and writers
· Before 20th century each family had particular type of weaving which identified them
· 19th century trading post owners marketed Navajo weaving to rest of America
· Also encouraged the Navajo people to develop new weaving styles
· By 1950s and 1960s trading posts didn’t have monopoly of Navajo arts due to new system
· By 1960’s Navajo weavings also sold at auctions
· in the 20th century there has been increasingly less Navajo artists but more popularity (and profit) from the rest of the world
· with new technology in 20th and 21st century different forms of Navajo art has been able to expand
example: basket weavers can use computers to create new designs for their baskets


Clothes


from: Wolfson, Evelyn. From Abenaki to Zuni: A Dictionary of Native American Tribes. New York City: Walker Publishing Company Inc., 1988. pgs 113-116
· Originally men and women wore clothes and blankets made from yucca fibres, sandals,and legging
· Taught by Hopi( another native tribe in the area) how to weave cotton and wool
· Navajo then wove cotton and wool instead of yucca
· Women wore mantas, handwoven pieces of cloth
· By late 1800’s European influence changed Navajo clothes
o Women wore long skirts made with cotton and rayon and blouses
o Men wore white cotton pants and velveteen shirts

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