Minneapolis Institute of Art

Chief's blanket (Hanoolchadi)

Diné (Navajo) artist

Date

c. 1865

Medium

Wool

Culture

Navajo

Department

Arts of the Americas

Institution

Minneapolis Institute of Art

A Navajo (Diné) woman made this chief’s blanket around 1865 during the Late Classic period of Navajo weaving (1860-75). Such blankets were worn across the shoulders of a chief, clan leader, or men and women of prominent social standing. Interestingly, chief blankets weren’t worn by Navajo chiefs— because the Navajo Nation doesn’t have chiefs—but instead by leaders of other nations, including the Lakota, Cheyenne, Ute, and Shoshone. The pattern of this textile is emblematic of hozho , a fundamental philosophical concept for the Navajo people that emphasizes the connection between beauty, symmetry, balance, order, and grace. United States, Americas

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