Honoring The Weavers

From the Introduction The time has come to honor the weavers. For over 2,000 years, men and women in the Southwest have woven beautiful textiles, baskets and other fine weavings. The oldest known vegetal fiber twinings and yucca plaited wares may date back over ten millenia. Coiled basketry soon emerged, followed by fabrics from natural plants. Cotton weaving began in Mesoamerica and spread northward in the tradition of Kokopelli. Most of the weavers have remained anonymous up to the present time. Living weavers and their ancient ancestors deserve our respect, inspiring our title, ?Honoring the Weavers.?

Weaving Memory is a journey into the world of ancestor work, and a primer for anyone seeking to develop a relationship with their beloved dead. We all have ancestors to connect to, and their blessings and protection are key to remembering where we came from and who we are. They help us understand the complexity of human relationships. Recovering the links to our ancestors is a way to wholeness, and the gift of Laura Patsouris in this book.

First published in 1980, this collection of fifteen original essays touches on a variety of topics related to the genesis of Brecht's works and their impact on contemporary literature, theater, and film. Discussed are Brecht's confrontation with Marxism and its political manifestations, the influence of his work on film and theater practitioners, the uses his literary descendants have made of his political commitment, and much more.

A New Deal for Navajo Weaving provides a detailed history of early to mid-twentieth-century Diné weaving projects by non-Natives who sought to improve the quality and marketability of Navajo weaving but in so doing failed to understand the cultural significance of weaving and its role in the lives of Diné women. By the 1920s the durability and market value of Diné weavings had declined dramatically. Indian welfare advocates established projects aimed at improving the materials and techniques. Private efforts served as models for federal programs instituted by New Deal administrators. Historian Jennifer McLerran details how federal officials developed programs such as the Southwest Range and Sheep Breeding Laboratory at Fort Wingate in New Mexico and the Navajo Arts and Crafts Guild. Other federal efforts included the publication of Native natural dye recipes; the publication of portfolios of weaving designs to guide artisans; and the education of consumers through the exhibition of weavings, aiding them in their purchases and cultivating an upscale market. McLerran details how government officials sought to use these programs to bring the Diné into the national economy; instead, these federal tactics were ineffective because they marginalized Navajo women and ignored the important role weaving plays in the resilience and endurance of wider Diné culture.

Cole and his friends finally reach the fourth of the five kingdoms, Necronum, land of the dead, where they confront unexpected dangers and meet new allies.

It is widely accepted that the machinery of multicultural societies and liberal democratic systems is dependent upon various forms of dialogue - dialogue between political parties, between different social groups, between the ruling and the ruled. But what are the conditions of a democratic dialogue and how does the philosophical dialogic approach apply to practice? Recently, facing challenges from mass protest movements across the globe, liberal democracy has found itself in urgent need of a solution to the problem of translating mass activity into dialogue, as well as that of designing borders of dialogue. Exploring the multifaceted nature of the concepts of dialogue and democracy, and critically examining materializations of dialogue in social life, this book offers a variety of perspectives on the theoretical and empirical interface between democracy and dialogue. Bringing together the latest work from scholars across Europe, Democracy in Dialogue, Dialogue in Democracy offers fresh theorizations of the role of dialogue in democratic thought and practice and will appeal to scholars of sociology, political science and social and political theory.

Illustrated guide for step-by-step beginning and advanced weaving. 424 pages; over 600 illustrations; indexed

This well-documented work, beautifully illustrated with over 100 full color photographs of baskets, weavers, and elated objects, details the history, origins, and meanings of these creations. Features in-depth interviews with medicine men and a section honoring a enw generation of Navajo weavers. A glossary of essential Navajo words is included.