Market returns: Navajo wool buybacks bridge generations, survival
Special to the Times | Donovan Quintero
Stanley Strode examines raw wool during the Navajo Nation Wool and Mohair Buy on July 31, in St. Michaels, Ariz., where growers brought their fleeces to be evaluated and purchased under a large tent at the Navajo Nation Fairgrounds.
WINDOW ROCK
For Lillie Dougai, a grandmother from the Shadow Mountain area near Cameron, Arizona, wool season has always been more than a transaction.
Special to the Times | Donovan Quintero
A Diné rancher flashes a peace sign after arriving with a truckload of tightly packed wool bags during the Navajo Nation Wool and Mohair Buy at the Navajo Nation Fairgrounds on July 31.
This year, she brought the yield of 75 sheep and 80 goats, waiting for hours in a long line of trucks and trailers to ensure her load was accepted before the day’s limit was reached.
Dougai, 86, said in Navajo that she grew up raising her family’s flock, but doing so meant sacrificing an education.
“Ą́ą́nstíʼsí dą́ą́, áádóó biniináá íłtáʼdá,” she said. “Éí shímá ákójináó, ʼOltá, dooda dooda,ʼ jináó. Ákó biniináá áádóó íłtáʼdá. Aanléedééh bikée náʼinshjíʼdoh hxáhxóolzhizh.”
She spoke plainly about the hard work required to care for sheep and goats.
“Dóó chxǫ́ó baanish hxásin. Aabikée jizǫ́ó éíya,” she said, explaining the need to constantly accompany the animals as they grazed.
Special to the Times | Donovan Quintero
A worker hoists a large fleece onto the sorting platform during the Navajo Nation Wool and Mohair Buy at the Navajo Nation Fairgrounds on July 31. The annual event supports Navajo sheep herders by purchasing raw wool and mohair for textile processing.
She said she used to earn more money when she wove rugs.
“Biʼóʼ néésh ʼą́ʼsilį́į́,” she said.
Before the trip to Window Rock, Dougai and her 91-year-old husband hadn’t sheared five sheep. She decided they could do it themselves.
“Áádóó dzizlóʼ łáʼáʼ. Áádééh tloł yiłindiilwóód, doo shi jád txáʼhxóonaah ániidééh,” she said, describing how the sheep ran past her, pulling the rope across her knees.
Despite nearly falling, they managed to finish shearing. But the work proved too much for her husband, who went to the hospital for a checkup while Dougai and her granddaughter traveled to Window Rock to sell wool and mohair.
“Today, we got lucky by one,” said Dougai’s granddaughter. “They were cut off at 160. We’re at 159.”
To read the full article, please see the Aug. 7, 2025, edition of the Navajo Times.
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