Naiomi Glasses represents the 7th generation of Dine (Navajo) weavers in her matrilineal line.  She is also the first artist in residence for the Ralph Lauren fashion house.  She is 26 years old and lives in Dinetah in northern Arizona. And, yes, she skateboards in a skirt. Glasses is, in her ancestral language, a Dine asdzaan (Navajo woman) CBS Sunday Morning Video

Her designs for both Ralph Lauren and Sackcloth & Ashes (a native-owned brand) incorporate traditional Dine designs in a respectful way.  Other design houses have come under fire for cultural appropriation -- using Native designs not created by Native designers. 

Navajo weaving is a fairly new endeavor that began with the introduction of sheep, specifically churro sheep, by the Spanish colonizers under Juan de Onate. Both men and women weave. 

One of the most important things that we can do when teaching about Native America is to teach the past AND the present.  Far too many adults (and, sadly, students) think that all Native people are extinct. Teach the present. Use the platform of people like Naiomi Glasses to illustrate that our Native nations are very much alive and thriving. 

Navajo loom diagram (ASU collection)

Navajo weavers, c. 1915

Navajo Blanket Weaver

Hastine-Ush-Klish-ah-Soon (the term "Hastiin" or "Hosteen" is an honorific for a healer)

Hastiin Klah, noted two-spirit weaver and healer, founder of the Wheelwright Museum

The Making of a Navajo Blanket, 1902

Map of the boundaries of the Navajo Nation

Navajo Nation official website

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