Generations of Love
In 1982 we took a photo of Evelyn Yazzie holding a completed weaving. At her side was her granddaughter (holding a smaller weaving of her own) and our son, Sean, who was only 5 at the time.
Steve noticed the similarity in the corner design of the two Navajo Sandpainting Rugs, that previously hadn't hung near each other in the gallery. He then remembered Evelyn's special corner design and pulled that photo from our archives .
The weavings that brought us to this search were important Navajo Sandpainting Textiles that were being displayed for our "Woven Holy People" exhibit last fall. Look at the corners... do you see? They are the same.
The photo we found confirmed our suspicions. Steve remembered that Evelyn told her this corner design had been passed down to her from her mother, and to her mother from her grandmother. She had told us that this was a family design and wasn't shared with other weavers. THAT meant that Evelyn had descended from the weavers who had woven the sandpainting textiles. According to Steve's research, the weaver was the daughter of Miguelito - a very important medicine man, her name was Altnabah.
Today, we received a comment on the original blog post of this story from Evelyn's granddaughter Malinda, the young girl holding her own weaving:
Steve that would be me in the photo, the youngest of Evelyn’s kids. One of my rugs my mom helped me with that I am holding. My mom would have been 92 this year. Miss her very much on this Mother’s Day. I will remember all the days of deadlines and your visits through all the summers of my childhood. Thank you for sharing this photo
We miss her very much too. She was a great friend for many, many years and was an incredibly gifted weaver. Her favorite weavings were the Ganado and Klagetoh style.
The love of a mother to a daughter, and a grandmother to a granddaughter is a bond that is rooted deeply. The generations of love that have shared the gift of weaving with the next, is a blessing to all who have the opportunity to see and appreciate their talent.
Stop by our Master Weavers page to appreciate the Women who have shared their weaving talents.
This Mother's Day, think back to the special women in your family who have shared traditions with you.
Happy Mothers Day
- DeAnne Clifton
