For sale: Fruits of the loom

Alisha Self

Oct. 31, 2009 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) -- More than two decades ago, a weaver living in the Navajo Nation had an idea that sparked a Park City tradition.

Linda Myers was visiting with Elders on the Navajo Reservation, which spans sections of Utah, New Mexico and Arizona, when Katie Furcap asked if Myers could try to sell one of her hand-woven rugs.

When Myers returned with cash, Furcap was prepared with two more rugs. The next time she visited, Furcap's sisters were waiting to give Myers their rugs to sell.

"As I began working with the Grandmothers, I realized the challenges they experienced living in remote areas of the Reservation," says Myers. "Weaving was their way of life and they wove their rugs to trade or sell. Most Elders saw their rugs as a means of survival."

In 1989, Myers founded the Adopt-A-Native Elder Program to help provide food, firewood, clothing and medical supplies to Navajo Elders living on the reservation.

Thinking back to her experiences with Katie and her sisters, the idea for a trademark fundraiser for the nonprofit came easily.

The annual Navajo Rug Show and Sale, now in its 20th year, will be held next weekend, Nov. 6-8, at the Snow Park Lodge at Deer Valley (OTCBB:DVLY) Resort. Adopt-A-Native Elder currently supports more than 525 traditional Navajo Elders.

About 30 Navajo families are expected to attend the show and sell their wares. The event gives locals a chance to meet Elders from the reservation and experience a piece of Navajo culture. All proceeds from sales go directly to the

weavers.

According to Myers, most of the weavers range from 70 to 100 years old. For the Elders, weaving is a custom that binds families together and preserves Navajo tradition.

For the Furcaps, weaving is a way of life. Katie's mother and grandmother were weavers. Her daughter, Darlene, learned to weave as soon as she was old enough to understand what the Elders were doing.

"I was raised in the middle of everybody weaving," Darlene says. "Just by looking at it, I started learning." When she became a single parent, Darlene turned to weaving to help support her daughters.

Katie and other Elders taught Darlene's daughters to weave at age eight or nine, passing down their knowledge of weaving along with other traditional Navajo ways of life. "They started just I did," says Darlene. "They just pick it up like a gift. They just get it."

Katie is now 76 years old and travels to Park City with her entire family each year for the Rug Show and Sale. Darlene and her daughters, who are 13 and 14 years old, bring several rugs to sell as well as fine jewelry made from beads, shells, turquoise and other stones.

"One sale buys groceries or one pair of shoes for my daughters, or pays my light bill or electric bill," Darlene says. "We depend on selling rugs for daily living expenses."

Darlene weaves whenever she has time off from her job as a bus driver. She says that, on average, it takes three or four days to make a small rug, but up to month or more to make larger rugs.

The rugs at the show will range in size and showcase the vast array of traditional Navajo designs. Weavers use different shapes, colors and symbols to imbue meaning into their pieces. "Each rug has a story to it," Darlene says. "They're like a book."

The Rug Show and Sale will feature weaving demonstrations, a ceremony for local and Navajo veterans, and traditional songs and ceremonial dances. Samuel Tsosie, a Navajo code talker, will return this year to share stories of how the Navajo language played a pivotal role in World War II.

The weekend kicks off Friday evening with a preview sale of more than 700 rugs as well as handmade jewelry and crafts. Six rugs from the nonprofit's private collection will be auctioned off along with items from local businesses.

The Elders and volunteers will dress in pink that night to recognize those who are struggling with cancer in the Navajo community. Many Elders approach cancer as something that is untreatable, and the Adopt-A-Native Elder Program wants to spread awareness that treatment is available.

Tickets for the preview event are $30 for adults and $10 for children 12 and under and may be purchased at the door. The event runs from 6 to 10 p.m.

The show continues Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Admission is $5 or $5 worth of canned goods.

For more information about the annual Rug Show and Sale or to find out how to support the Navajo Elders, call 649-0535 or visit www.anelder.org .

Schedule of Events

Friday

6 to 10 p.m. Special event sale featuring preview sale, live auction, hors d'oeuvres and live music

Saturday

10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Rugs for sale

10 a.m. Navajo Children's Princess Pageant

1 p.m. Weaving demonstrations

4 p.m. Grandma Idol singing competition

Sunday

10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Rugs for sale

10 a.m. Veterans ceremony with Navajo code talker Samuel Tsosie

1 p.m. Weaving demonstrations

3 p.m. Closing pow wow

Newstex ID: KRTB-1039-39330487