Navajo retirees come together to learn weaving skill
Navajo Times | Jalen Woody
Mary Barney presents her finished rug to the Navajo Weaving Workshop students on July 27. She stands in a brightly lit room in the Tohatchi Chapter House as applause surrounds her.
WINDOW ROCK
A band of Navajo retirees came together recently to learn a traditional craft, motivated by the Diné culture. As a result, this group of women learned how to weave.
Navajo Times | Jalen Woody
Julia Manuelito, a weaving student at the Navajo Weaving Workshop at Tohatchi Chapter House, uses a tool to thread yarn into her first rug. Manuelito participated in the final class of the workshop on July 27.
On July 27, Lois Becentiʼs weaving class in Tohatchi gathered to celebrate completing the class. Some students received certificates for honors, such as “Most Improved Student” and “Perfect Attendance.”
The first class for the Tohatchi unit began on June 8, and it lasted over a month. The students were required to bring their weaving tools and wool. The looms used to complete their rugs were donated by the local chapter and had to be returned on the last day of class. The class at Tohatchi was held every Thursday.
Lois Becenti has been a Navajo weaving instructor for many years. She first began teaching weaving classes after she retired from her job at the Gallup Indian Medical Center, where she was a mental health specialist in 2015. She has mastered many different weaving techniques, such as wedge weaving blankets.
Navajo Times | Jalen Woody
Lois Becenti holds a tool in her right finger while threading yarn into a Navajo weaving loom. She fixed the warp for a student during the Navajo Weaving Workshop at the Tohatchi
Throughout the years, Becenti has hosted many classes at different chapter houses and other venues throughout the Navajo Nation. She is Táchii’nii, born for ‘Áshįįhí. Her cheii is Tódích’íi’nii and her nálí is Tsi’naajinii. She is from Coyote Canyon, New Mexico, and she still resides there.
“The important thing is because I wanted to let the people learn to carry on traditional culture art, so it won’t die down on us,” Becenti said.
Read the full story in the Aug. 3 edition of the Navajo Times.
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