Navajo Textiles & Blankets: Germantown

After the Navajo internment at Bosque Redondo (1864-1868) the Navajo began to receive, as a part of the annual annuity goods from the United States Government, plied commercial yarns known colloquially as Germantown, from the section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania where they were produced. These plied yarns were first produced in three plies circa 1863, and production changed over to the four-ply yarns circa 1875. After the horror and desolation of Bosque Redondo, little material goods were left to the Navajo. The native flocks were so decimated that the weavers had to turn to these plied commercial yarns, as well as synthetic-dyed American flannel, which were basically the only weaving materials available save for limited homespun wool fleeces. By the 1880's, the best weavers were often working solely with these Germantown yarns.

Navajo Weaving Tradition from ATADA.org on Vimeo.