Six decades on the loom

Lois Becenti weaves a life of tradition, self-reliance

CHURCH ROCK, N.M.

For Lois Becenti, weaving has been both a livelihood and a way of life for six decades.

Speaking Saturday at the 103rd Annual Gallup Inter-Tribal Indian Ceremonial, the 77-year-old Navajo rug weaver reflected on her long career, the skills she has passed on, and the lessons she hopes younger generations will take from the craft.

“I would say ever since my teenage years,” Becenti said of when she began weaving. “Probably 60 years.”

For her, weaving became more than an art form – it was how she raised her family.

“Money,” she said with a smile. “To support my family because I was a single parent — my three children – and they’re all grown up now. So I just get me a vehicle to go places.”

Becenti never applied for public assistance.

“I work. I worked at the Gallup Medical Center for 40 years and as a health educator five years. I retired in October 2015. Since then, I’m full-time weaver and full-time instructor,” she said.

She has taught weaving at Navajo Technical University, the Gallup Public Library, and at Navajo chapter houses. She still processes much of her own wool.

“I usually save the good wool and I usually card and spin,” she said. “If I want to hurry and make one not on order, I run to Griswold and buy.”

Becenti encourages younger generations to see weaving and silversmithing as viable income sources, even if done part time.

“That was enough to raise my children. My grandchildren too,” she said.

Her own children chose different paths.

“I have two daughters and one son. They’re all up on their own. They have children and all they do is rodeo,” she said.

Becenti sells her rugs through regular customers, auctions, and events like the ceremonial. This year, one of her larger rugs had already sold, with others headed for auction in Farmington. She weaves in many styles but has a specialty.

“Two Gray Hill,” she said, also noting eye dazzler, diamond twill, double face, Ganado red, and other designs. Some motifs, she explained, are off-limits.

“I’m a medicine woman and I was told never ever weave snake design, horned toad or turtle or bear or Kokopelli. Never ever do that – you go crazy,” she said. “So this design that I was told, never do that. So I’m aware of that and I teach that too.”

She described the labor-intensive process, from shearing sheep to dyeing wool.

“That’s the hardest part,” she said. “And then washing it and dyeing it and then working on it from the scrap lot. It’s a lot of work, a long process.”

Even dyeing is rooted in traditional knowledge.

“We had to collect the bushes, sage brush, underground plants. We have to do that,” Becenti said.

When she isn’t weaving, Becenti works in other art forms.

“I used to be a full-time silversmith, and I do crocheting and I do the pillows. I sew clothes and I sew apron shawl and string beads,” she said. “And I do painting with the acrylic painting. And then ceramic, I do pottery, but it’s too dirty work. I don’t want to do that no more.”

Teaching proper technique is a priority for her.

“Some ladies, they don’t weave right. So I try to teach the right way. And I really want the young ladies learn how to weave instead of just depending on their parents,” she said. “I really want the moms to weave. It keeps our mind occupied and then gets us a little extra money.”

She also sees it as a way to address social problems.

“It’s really sad, and it hurts me when I find out these young moms are just drinking (and using) substance. And when I read the newspaper, it’s always a mom got caught with the children. That really hurts me,” she said. “I want all the moms to learn how to do any craft that they feel comfortable with. Even beading.”

For Becenti, weaving is not just a skill, but a grounding force – a connection to tradition, community and self-reliance.

“That’s my main important goal,” she said.

Editor’s note: This story was published in the Aug. 14, 2025, edition of the Navajo Times. 

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