IARC- Navajo Weavers Convocation- Naat'aanii

TahNibaa Naat'aanii

Navajo Weaving

TahNibaa Naat'aanii was born to the Hooghan Ln (Many Hogans People—maternal clan) and born for Maideeshigiizhinii (Coyote Pass People—paternal clan) in Shiprock, New Mexico, on May 5, 1967. Attending kindergarten in Ft. Defiance, Arizona, is among her earliest memories. At the age of ten, her father and mother moved to her current home: Table Mesa is approximately twelve miles south of Shiprock, New Mexico. Although television and other technologies were available to TahNibaa, her mother was very strict about letting her indulge in such entertainment. Sarah H. Natani, a nationally acclaimed weaver in her own right, wanted her daughter to learn how to weave and to have knowledge of important Navajo traditions, and a sense of history about her people and culture.
     Trips to Toadlena, home of her paternal grandparents, where TahNibaa played with her "lady nalli Sarah's" (paternal grandmother's) red wool are fondly recalled, "my grandmother encouraged me to know the wool." And know it she did, since she would card endless wool "roll logs" for her mother in the evenings. "I did this primarily because fragments of wool would stick to my skirt and I could go outside and twirl and twirl to get it off. I just loved twirling that skirt." One day, at age seven, TahNibaa returned home from school and a loom was set up for her. It was time to learn to weave. Under protest, TahNibaa began what was to become one of the most important lessons of her young life. She learned to weave from practicing at the loom and the only thing her mother would let her weave were stripes and occasionally a diamond and rectangle because "it was important to learn process first." She sold her first rug at the age of ten and discovered she learned she loved to work with her hands.
     TahNibaa's weaving continued through high school, but at times she found it difficult to live in both the biligaana and din'e worlds. "People tended to make fun of what was perceived as superstitious," she recalled. "I taught myself to make the Navajo woman's hairstyle, and proudly wore it to school. The other kids laughed and made fun of me. But I didn't care. I just kept wearing that hairstyle." She experienced prejudice both at Aztec High School, Aztec, New Mexico, and during her tour of duty in the United States Navy where she served for four years from 1985-1989. Nonetheless, TahNibaa held fast to her cultural traditions.
     Recently discarding a prestigious position as a bio-scientist, she is currently pursuing weaving full-time. She weaves regional designs from the Crystal, Two Gray Hills, Burntwater, and Wide Ruins areas of the Navajo reservation. Experimentation with creating historic second and third phase chief-style men's and women's shoulder blankets and re-instituting the wedge weave technique helps to ground her work in the past traditions of her people. Always eclectic and creative, TahNibaa also weaves pictorials and manipulates a six-heddle warped loom to create the twill-style float weaves. Her rugs and tapestries are recognized at such shows as the Heard Museum Fair, Eight Northern Pueblo Arts and Craft Fair, the Gallup Intertribal Ceremonial, and the Santa Fe Fiber Art Show where she has won several awards.

Images: (Top) Portrait by Mark Nohl

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