Barbara Teller Ornelas, Lynda Teller Pete, Kevin Aspaas, Calandra Cook, Elisio Curley, and TahNibaa Naataanii – Learning from the Grandmothers: The 2023 Traditional Technologies Navajo Weaving Seminar to Washington, D.C.

CHOOSE HOW YOU WILL ATTEND Join us in person at the University of Arizona Environmental Resources Bldg. # 2  Room 107, Agnese Nelms Haury Lecture Hall, 1064 E Lowell St, Tucson, AZ 85719  No registration is required 

Parking is easy! The 6th Street Parking Garage is right next to ENR2 on the east. There is also a surface lot just across 6th Street from ENR2.

Join By Zoom Registration is Required. Register here.

In October 2023, six Diné weavers traveled to Washington, D.C. for a week to study historic and contemporary Navajo textiles at the National Museum of the American Indian, National Museum of Natural History, and The Textile Museum. Led and organized by master weavers and educators Barbara Teller Ornelas and Lynda Teller Pete, the seminar group also included emerging artists Kevin Aspaas, Calandra Cook, Elisio Curley, and TahNibaa Naataanii. Sponsored by the AAHS Traditional Technologies program, the seminar’s goals were to learn more about the yarns, dyes, and techniques used to create the older weavings, experience the artistry and resiliency of their weaving ancestors, create opportunities for artistic growth, and expand Diné perspectives in Navajo weaving education, interpretation, and scholarship.

In this in-person presentation, the participants will share their experiences from the seminar with the AAHS membership. They will also share examples of their weavings inspired by the research.  

AAHS Traditional Technologies Navajo Weaving Seminar group outside of the National Museum of the American Indian. Front row: Lynda Teller Pete and Barbara Teller Ornelas. Back row: TahNibaa Naataanii, Kevin Aspaas, Eliseo Curley, and Calandra Cook.

About the Presenters:

Barbara Teller Ornelas is a fifth-generation master Navajo/Diné tapestry weaver. Raised in the Two Grey Hills Trading Post on the Navajo Nation, her highly sought work can be found in numerous museums. She and her sister Lynda have authored two books on Navajo weaving. Barbara resides in Tucson, AZ.

Lynda Teller Pete is an artist, weaver, teacher, educator, writer, activist, and culture bearer. Originally from the Two Grey Hills-Newcomb area, she collaborates with fiber art centers, museums, universities, and other venues to educate the public about Navajo history and weaving. She lives in Denver, CO. 

Kevin Aspaas is a young Diné weaver and fiber artist from Shiprock, NM. Best known for producing the old-style Navajo wedge-weave technique, he also weaves other Navajo traditional and contemporary styles. 

Calandra Cook is a Navajo textile artist and architect who lives and works in Mesa, AZ. She is renowned for her masterful use of dyes and her rendering of birds in pictorial weavings.  

Elisio Curley is a Diné sheep rancher, weaver, moccasin maker, traditional farmer, and educator from Shiprock, NM. He raises his own Navajo-Churro sheep.  

TahNibaa Naataanii is an award-winning Navajo weaver, Churro sheep rancher, educator, and consultant from the Shiprock, NM area. She weaves both traditional and innovative styles. In 2022, she received the prestigious NEH National Heritage Fellowship Award.