Set of 4: 1986 22c Navajo Indians
Front:
ROCK,
DOW
SEP
1986
86515
Museum of the American Indian
Navajo Art USA 22
AZ
ROCK
SEP
1986
Meum of the American Indian
86515 Navajo Art USA 22
DOW
ROCA
SEP
1986
86515
Museum of the American Indian
Navajo Art USA 22
E3
XXXX
ROCK,
SEP
1986
86515
Lowe Art Museum
Navajo Art USA 22
AZ
Back:
NAVAJO YOUTH
First Day of Issue: September 4, 1986
First Issue Location: Window Rock, Arizona
Once the Navajo moved nomadically across America's
Southwest. For Navajo weavers, each move meant a
new loom had to be constructed, for the old one could
not be brought along. Yet, with an ingenuity that has
characterized the Navajo for generations, they built
looms from materials found in their new surroundings.
Weaving tools presented another challenge. They were
often hand-fashioned of the hardest woods, which re-
quired special searches of the countryside to locate just
the right branches of oak, wild holly or mountain
mahogany. To construct the loom and tools, the Navajo
weaver spent countless hours, yet the most time-consum-
ing work had not even started. For to create the beautiful
Navajo weavings, they had to tend the sheep, gather the
wool, card and spin yarn, and forage for plants to dye
the yarn. Finally, the blanket design was conceived and
the blanket painstakingly woven. The Navajo youth
pictured on the front of this maximum card is dressed
in a traditional costume and jewelry.
No. 86-67
©1986 The Maximum Card Collection
A Division of Unicover Corporation . Cheyenne, WY 82008-0007
Original painting by Tom McNeely.
NAVAJO WOMAN
First Day of Issue: September 4, 1986
First Issue Location: Window Rock, Arizona
Women have always had an important position in Navajo
society. For, inheritance is passed maternally, giving
Navajo women much of the wealth and power in their
society. As a result, the Navajo family structure is unique,
even by the standards of modern society. For example,
their hogans, or simple homes, are sometimes gathered
in family clusters of dwellings for a mother, and each of
her married daughters. Navajo women have yet another
significant role in their culture, for it is the Navajo women
who first learned weaving and created the vividly col-
ored, intricately designed Navajo blankets, now famous
throughout the world. This ageless knowledge is passed
on to each generation only by word of mouth from
mother to daughter. Therefore, the art of weaving re-
quires mental discipline and creativity, as well as phys-
ical stamina and endurance. For the Navajo weaver must
not only conceptualize the complex blanket patterns
from memory, but also create the blankets using ancient
methods passed down from their elders.
No. 86-68
©1986 The Maximum Card Collection
A Division of Unicover Corporation . Cheyenne, WY 82008-0007
Original painting by Tom McNeely.
NAVAJO MAN
First Day of Issue: September 4, 1986
First Issue Location: Window Rock, Arizona
Navajo elders are responsible for passing on tribal know-
ledge and lore. But old-timers avoid telling their stories
in the summer, because they fear lightning and the
dreaded spirits they believe it brings. Indeed, the Navajo
are a deeply religious and mystical people. To this day,
Navajo medicine men perform curing rituals by creating
sand paintings using crushed red sandstone, charcoal
and sand to “paint” a healing symbol. Their patients then
sit on this sand painting, in hopes of absorbing its healing
power and thereby shedding any illness. Mysticism and
tradition also prevail in Navajo weavings. For example,
the Navajo believe their spirits are captured within the
design of their weavings and if their spirits are not allowed
to escape, they will eventually go crazy. Thus the Navajo
usually weave a thin line of yarn into the blankets,
breaking the pattern. This yarn gives their spirits an
escape route. Their blanket weavings also express the
Navajo's intense reverence for nature's beauty, which is
an integral part of Navajo beliefs.
No. 86-69
©1986 The Maximum Card Collection
A Division of Unicover Corporation . Cheyenne, WY 82008-0007
Original painting by Tom McNeely.
NAVAJO MAIDEN
First Day of Issue: September 4, 1986
First Issue Location: Window Rock, Arizona
The Navajo have always felt a reverence for the natural
beauty of their homeland. This passion is reflected in
their weavings which are regarded today as supreme
artistic achievements. Woven by the skilled hands of the
Navajo maidens, each weaving is the symbol of gener-
ations of this peaceful and determined American Indian
Nation. Ingenuity, perseverance, self-discipline and a
special harmony with nature have enabled the Navajo
people to survive and flourish. They have weathered the
storms of conquest and colonization, and endured the
civilizing influences of modern American culture. Their
unique vision of man in harmony with himself and nature
found its expression in their blanket weavings. The weav-
ings reveal the character of the Navajo people; the
pathos of their heritage, and the tenacity of their vision.
The Navajo people continue to create their intricate
blanket weavings by hand askewing modern machinery
a painstaking process which sometimes takes them a
year or more to complete a single blanket.
No. 86-70
©1986 The Maximum Card Collection
A Division of Unicover Corporation . Cheyenne, WY 82008-0007
Original painting by Tom McNeely.