Degree Type
Dissertation
Date of Award
2004
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy
Department
Textiles and Clothing
First Advisor
Mary A. Littrell
Abstract
Factors that contribute to artisan sustainability are of critical importance to the world's artisans who depend on hand-produced textiles for income and livelihood, and for whom textile production is closely intertwined with cultural identity. Navajo weavers have processed and woven the wool of Navajo-Churro sheep into textiles for more than 350 years. Navajo-Churro sheep, destroyed to reduce over grazing and crossbred to near extinction, are being restored to the Navajo Nation. The purpose of this study is to document and interpret ways that the community-based Navajo organization Dine be' iina (The Navajo Lifeway, or DBI) influences the restoration of Navajo-Churro sheep as a traditional fiber resource used for Navajo textiles. The relationship of Navajo-Churro sheep and wool to Navajo history and textiles provides context for this interpretive study. Models for community-based development provide the conceptual framework. Change in textile handraft traditions grounds the theoretical base. Data emerge from participant-observation, in-depth interviews conducted on or near the Navajo Nation, and related contemporary and historic sources. Results define relationships among Navajo-Churro sheep and wool, Navajo cultural identity, unique cultural products, and the educational channels used to promote knowledge of Navajo-Churro sheep. Results identify factors that contribute to sustaining DBI as a community-based organization. An inductively-derived model proposed for sustaining Navajo-Churro sheep and wool as a traditional fiber resource furthers the understanding of community-based strategies that contribute to artisan sustainability.
DOI
https://doi.org/10.31274/rtd-180813-5
Publisher
Digital Repository @ Iowa State University, http://lib.dr.iastate.edu
Copyright Owner
Susan Marie Strawn
Copyright Date
2004
Language
en
Proquest ID
AAI3158372
File Format
application/pdf
File Size
236 pages
Recommended Citation
Strawn, Susan Marie, "Restoring Navajo-Churro sheep: community-based influences on a traditional Navajo fiber resource and textile " (2004). Retrospective Theses and Dissertations. 1197.
https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/rtd/1197
