Most Native American painters today are easy to track down and find information about. They tend not to be shy about recognition or fame. Early on, that was not always true.

Yei and Yeibichai rugs evolved at the beginning of the 1900s when traders were encouraging Navajo weavers to replace the old wearing blanket patterns with designs that the traders could sell to tourist outlets and department stores. Different styles, like Two Grey Hills, Ganado and Crystal developed around those trading post areas.

The first time I really took the time to look at Shonto Begay's work was in the 1980s when I was judging Navajo weaving at the Santa Fe Indian Market. Back in those days, and really, still today, there are not many Navajo weavings entered at the Market. 

If you have been following our newsletter a while, you know the story of the Burnham weavers. In a chapter house area south of Shiprock and across the road from Two Grey Hills, a group of five sisters, Anna Mae, Marie, Helen, Alice and Sandy, began creating unique Navajo weavings in the 1970s.

We have received a lot of credit for being the traders who developed the Burnham area Navajo weaving designs. That, of course, is not true. The weavers from the Burnham area, specifically the Begay and Barber families, did not need anyone to help them create these wonderful pieces.