Weavers

Anita Jackson


Yá’át’ééh! My name is Anita Kanuho Jackson. I was born April 4, 1931 or 1932 or 1933. It depends on which record you go by. Personally, I like the one that makes me younger. I attended 7 years of schooling at Sherman Indian School in California to the 7th grade. My clan is Towering House People, Kinyaa’aanii. I was born for Big Water People, Tótsohnii. Salt People, Ásh??hníí are my maternal grandparents. Bitter Water People (Tódích’íi’nii) are my paternal grandparents.

I taught myself to weave. I enjoy weaving, this is my life after retirement. I like to weave to keep busy and I enjoy it. I can’t just sit and do nothing. I like to challenge myself and see what I can master in weaving. My kids like to see what I made. They offer their compliments and some stories on it, like the great bull I wove on the rug.

I think about how I am going to do my rug by planning length, width, color. Count the yarn how much to use and how many yarns to use. I draw my design on a paper first. There is a lot of math (+, -, =), count your string, step by step. One of the traditions I was taught about weaving is starting with the base is called the universe and I start to think and plan out the design. To prepare my loom, I start with a prayer for my rug. I open my mind to the great heavenly father to show me the way to design.

Mountain Spring Snowflake, Ganado Red and Storm pattern are the designs I prefer to weave. Sometimes I spin my own yarn and collect purple berry during spring and fall to dye the wool. I like using black, maroon, white and light grey because it is traditional. That’s what I started with from the beginning of my weaving. I like new colors like turquoise, blue, and green. I weave a spirit line or pathway out that people can see in my rugs.