I have posted advertisements for traditional Navajo weaving classes and Native art shopping experiences.  I have received few inquiries for these experiences to learn about Navajo culture and contemporary Navajo life. My traditional Navajo weaving class will have few shortcuts, and we will do our warping and weaving while sitting on the floor as if we were weaving 200 years ago.   My Native art shopping experiences will give you the opportunity to see in person the authentic way Navajo people live without all preconceived notions of how Navajos and other Native people live on the reservation.  No, Oprah didn’t get it when she visited Window Rock, the Navajo Nation capital.  Yes, the pow-wow culture is NOT a Navajo tradition.  Yes, Navajos do have TVs, computers, and internet. No, Navajos don’t live in teepees, never did.  Yes, we still wear feathers, but not everyday. See how much you learned already? 

I will take you to Santa Fe to meet weaver, artist, and author Noel Bennett.  Now how many weaving instructors or shopping guides can offer you to meet Noel Bennett and hear one of her stories of living on the Navajo Reservation in the 1960s?  For those of you who don’t know about Noel’s books, they include Working with the Wool, Halo of the Sun, Bighorse the Warrior (edited only), and Weaver’s Pathway.  Noel is my dear friend. These experiences will change your life, and how you think about yourself and others around you, but you have to be open to these experiences.

I will leave the opportunities open for a couple more weeks and then I may cancel my personally guided offerings.  I appreciate your time and attention in reading my blog updates.  Time is of the essence so I do need to move on to other projects and endeavors.  Thanks!  Hope to see you soon in my traditional Navajo weaving class or on a trip to Hubbell Trading Post or to Cameron Trading Post.  Please contact me if you have any questions, suggestions, or comments.

Morris