Press Release
The Prehistoric Museum will present “Weaving a World: Special Presentation” on Saturday, Sept. 7. This presentation complements the current special exhibition “Weaving a World: A way of life in the Four Corners” and is included with admissions.
Larry Dalrymple will present an overview of the ethno-history of ceremonial baskets made by the Navajo since 1868, covering the dramatic changes in Navajo basketry and way of life that occurred from confinement on the Navajo Reservation in northeastern Arizona. The strained relations between the Navajo and Hopi brought about a new basket tradition. The Navajo used the resources available to them from the mountain alpines to the deserts for their basketry. The lecture will start at 3 p.m. in the Don Burge Multipurpose Room on the second floor of the museum.
Dalrymple grew up in Ogden, Utah. He received his Bachelor degree from Weber State College and completed work at Utah State University toward a Masters in Latin American and European history. In 1994, after teaching in high school and college in California, he worked in the education department of the Museum of International Folk Art in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where he lives today. He is the author of “Indian Basketmakers of California and the Great Basin,” and “Indian Basketmakers of the Southwest.” Several of the baskets highlighted in these publications are also featured in the “Weaving a World” exhibition in the Special Exhibitions Gallery.
Also on Sept. 7, Edith Tahi will demonstrate traditional Navajo loom weaving in the Special Exhibitions Gallery starting at 2 p.m. She will show how the Navajo rugs in the “Weaving a World” exhibition were made. Tahi is a Navajo rug weaver from Oljeta Chapter House near Monument Valley. She learned weaving from her husband’s family and has been weaving for nearly 30 years. SHe prefers new and challenging designs using natural colors. Her rugs are often “sheep to the loom,” which means she sheers the sheep, prepares and spins the wool, and finally weaves it into a rug.