Weavers

Rosemary Sagg


Yá’át’ééh! I am Rosemary Sagg and I live on the reservation at Rock Point.

As a child, I remember watching my mother shear the sheep, wash and card the wool, pick out all the dirt and debris, and then use the spindle to turn the wool into yarn. I also remember the first rug I ever wove by myself. The rug was all one color. Purple. My mother sold it, probably to a trader, so the family would have money for food.

I was born outside Sweetwater, Arizona. Literally outside. My mother was preparing for a ceremony and making food for lots of people. She was walking back and forth from the Hogan to the shade house organizing and carrying food back and forth when I was born and landed on the ground.

My father was a medicine man. He never attended school. My father taught others how to use traditional medicines and herbs for healing. He taught me these things as well. After he passed, my mother became a medicine woman. Both of my parents instilled in me the importance of being able to do things on my own. I went to boarding school in Teec Nos Pos. We were not allowed to speak our native language in school. If we were caught speaking Navajo, we would get our mouths washed out with soap.

Family is very important to me. I help teach the younger ones values and good manners. I like weaving. It keeps me going. Weaving keeps me in good spirits.