Weavers are the storytellers of Navajo Nation.

We are capturing our own stories into these tapestries.

Weaving is a reflection of who we are.

Just like most stories on the reservation, we came from hardships.

You will hear a lot of depression, a lot of anger, a lot of PTSD.

We can't go back in time and live on the land like we used to.

I want the future generation to see my artwork.

As you don't have to be a master weaver All you have to do is just try.

And hopefully one day we'll have a whole nation full of weavers.

And it won't be a dying art anymore.

Sitting in front of a Navajo loom is like sitting in front of the universe.

You have your first bar, which is here.

You have your sky bar up there, Day and night over here.

The strings that you see here represent rain.

My name is Barbara Teller Ornelas.

I am of the Navajo Nation.

And Edgewater people, born for that water that flows together.

My grandfather's clans are One Who Walks Around and Red Streak Across the Face.

I've been weaving since I was five, six years old.

My grandmother used to entertain me with stories and songs as we would weave.

I'm working on a Two Grey Hill.

This is a traditional pattern that's been in my family for over seven generations.

You have four patterns here that represent the four sacred mountains.

Every family has a different story for their pieces.

I put a lot of my own spirit and feelings into loom, and I always make sure that there's something in there that represents my children and my grandchildren and my sister and my brothers.

When I teach weaving, especially my Navajo students, I tell them that, you know, think of your your grandmothers, who did this kind of work.

They sustained themselves.

People always say "Navajo weaving is a dying art" It's going to be here forever.

People like me, my kids, my grandson, they're gonna keep it going.

My name is Tasheena Littleben.

I am from Rock Point, Arizona, and I am a third generation weaver.

My clan is Red Bottom Clan.

I am born for Towering House Clan.

I was weaving since I was seven years old, all the way up to twelve, and at twelve years old is when I moved off the reservation.

And, that's pretty much where I was disconnected from the culture.

I came back because I was craving peace, and I wanted to get out of just the chaos of being in the city.

I've learned that weaving was my medicine.

It's when I feel the most centered with myself.

My designs and patterns are inspired by my ancestors.

Also incorporating myself as a Diné woman and the colors that I love.

I would say the eye dazzler which is what I'm making right now, is my most favorite.

The way that you weave is by counting the strings.

So in this case, this little like trapezoid that I'm creating is counted by six strings.

That was the pattern that I chose to weave when I decided to go back into weaving.

I'm able to play with different colors and I never know what it's going to look like.

It's a complete surprise to me.

When you see a weaving from another weaver, you can almost make that connection to what it is that they were going through at that time.

The economy's not really great here on the reservation.

It's extremely hard to live as an artist, and especially an upcoming artist.

When I was little, I watched my grandmother and my mom finish their pieces and take it to the trading post.

They would be told how much the piece would cost, and instead of getting all the money, they would get dry goods.

Cash would be the last thing they'd get.

I think it was kind of like their way of keeping weavers in line.

I watched that and I'm like, I would love to change that.

We were always very, very excited as kids that we we get to go to town because mom was gonna get paid.

and she wove whether she was in a good mood or not.

It was something that she just had to do, and it had to be done to be able to support the family.

I didn't know where to go to sell my pieces, but the trading post.

And for the longest time I had traders who didn't like me because I was going outside and finding my own collectors, finding my own way of doing things.

I've realized that to be an artist, and to also make money off of your artwork, that you also have to learn the business part of being an artist.

I would say Indian Market is a game changer for new and upcoming artists.

The market has been here for 103 years, and it was first and it was first developed for the neighboring Pueblo tribes to sell their pots.

It turned into an annual event.

A lot more other Southwest tribes were added.

The Hopis, Navajos, all the different tribes in the state of New Mexico, and then some in Arizona.

I feel like it's this big hub station to connect collectors with artists.

It's one of the most magical places to be in.

You never know who you're going to run into and what new opportunities could arise.

This is my first year actually having a booth, so it's pretty exciting because then now I get to showcase some of my weavings and also my fiancé, which I collaborate with as well.

People come and they just admire your work and especially when you create from the heart, it's very special.

I came in 1983 and then my first booth was in '84, and so I started coming every year.

I don't ship something off without knowing who that person is.

I like to think of it as a collaboration that I'm also weaving that person's identity and their style into the weaving as well.

But still putting my own flair into it.

Yeah.

It's incredible.

It's like giving birth to a child.

And as I'm weaving it, it's like watching your child grow.

Just from my understanding and from my own family's teaching.

These two here represent the two grey hills.

And then the brown and the white are natural from the sheep.

This doctor from Flagstaff came and bought the very first Two Grey that I had made, you know, and he paid me the whole money, and I didn't have to share with a trader.

I didn't have to share with the gallery owner.

And that money was all mine.

Through the years, I've won a lot of awards.

But for me, my biggest accomplishment is teaching my children.

I know my grandmother would be very proud of that.

So we have that bit of history with us.

It inspires us to tell the real truth because that has always been taken away from us.

There are so many books out there, so many people who think they know about Navajo weaving.

Weaving is a birthright for Navajo people.

Everybody who is Navajo should know how to do it.

I pray to Spider Woman, the diety that had taught the Navajo people how to weave.

And you just ask her for guidance and protection, to use me as a vessel, to be able to pass on the teachings that I know on to the younger generation.