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Show NAVAJO COUNTRY REBORN 147 Rather suddenly, Navajo weavers became artists whose works were in demand. Wise traders acted almost as modern managers, taking care of all the business. First, they brought in dyed yarn, so that the weavers would not have to spend the largest part of their time saving scraps of wool and hand-dyeing their work. When the traders began selling cotton string to use for the warp, nothing was left to distract the weaver. Her time was valuable. The first results could have been expected. Working as quickly as possible to make as much money as they could, weavers turned out thousands of rugs, but their quality quickly declined. Time and quantity, not quality, were the driving forces. In this way, the Navajo weavers earned a steady income. Brightly colored Germantown yarns and aniline dyes made their way to Navajo-land at about this time. New colors and designs were added. To increase the profits to be earned from the weaving trade, traders like Lorenzo Hubbell and J. B. Moore began programs to control the designs and sell the rugs. First the trader would organize a group of willing weavers. Then he made a catalogue of designs. A customer anywhere in the country could then send an order for a certain rug. The trader would select a weaver and supply her with the materials. The white customer would soon have a "Navajo" rug of specific design. But this era of gaudy design and standard form did not destroy the tradition of fine Navajo weaving. More recent styles owe much to the efforts of the Hyde Exploring Foundation and of Fred Harvey, who, toward the end of the century, began to urge the weaving of blankets in the old style, with quiet dyes and pleasant Navajo designs. Navajo jewelers had no such outside influences to direct the growth of their art. From Mexican teachers they had learned the skill and taken a few designs, but Navajo silver was Navajo silver. On the other hand, the men sold little of their silver and turquoise. They made the jewelry for themselves and their families, not for the trader or his white clients. A jeweler could not yet depend on his silver as a source of income, as his wife could on her weaving. That would come later. Education When, in keeping with national goals, civilian agents replaced career army officers in 1870, a new force came into the Navajo world. The Board of Indian Commissioners opened the Navajo |
