Woven Kin: Exploring Representation and Collaboration in Navajo Weaving Exhibitions

<p>Following recent trends in scholarship that establish museums as complex sites where representations of Native American cultures are actively negotiated, this thesis explores the relationship between representational strategies and the employment of critical Indigenous methodologies by museum institutions in the display of Navajo weavings. A postcolonial theoretical framework is utilized to analyze six Navajo weaving exhibition installments over the past decade. Additionally, a critical reflection is offered about the development of the author's collaborative exhibition, <em>Na'ashjé'ii Biką' Biyiin (Chant of the Male Spider): A Holistic Journey with Diné Weaver Roy Kady</em>, that reveals both the rewards and challenges of collaborative exhibition making between two members of the Navajo community. This study problematizes the historical process of museum representation and suggests a more nuanced investigation of the collaborative dynamics that contribute towards the decolonizing efforts in Native scholarship and museum practice.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

M.A.

Level thesis:degree_level

Masters Thesis

Year dc:date.available

2011

Author dc:creator

• Montoya, Teresa Maria

Contributors dc:contributor

• Christina F. Kreps, Ph.D.
• Richard Clemmer Smith
• Chip Colwell-Chanthaphonh

• Collaboration
• Indigenous
• Museum
• Navajo
• Postcolonial
• Representation
• Anthropology
• Indigenous Studies
• Museum Studies
• Race, Ethnicity and Post-Colonial Studies

Statement dc:rights

• <p>Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.</p>

Language dc:language

en

Repository record dc:identifier

https://digitalcommons.du.edu/etd/443

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:digitalcommons.du.edu:etd-1442