The Swastika Symbol in Navajo Textiles [2nd Edition] [SOLD]

From the Summary

“The swastika symbol in human history enjoys a long and positive tradition.  Its wide geographic dispersion in prehistoric times and ultimate migration to Europe and Africa causes it to appear on the ornaments, crafts and edifices of many cultures. In the Navajo culture the symbol has its origins in a myth that was rendered in sand paintings associated with the Night Chant.  Known as the ‘whirling log,’ the incorporation of the symbol into Navajo weavings was encouraged by the two most influential traders of their time, J. B. Moore and J. Lorenzo Hubbell, in response to its widespread acceptance as a design motif by the Eastern buyers they hoped to attract.  The swastika’s appropriation by the Nazis in WWII is responsible for the negative connotation it has today, a connotation perpetuated in its use by Neo-Nazi groups around the world.  As a result, the swastika symbol does not appear in Navajo weavings or jewelry made after the 1930s, although its spiritual significance in the Navajo culture has not diminished.

“How long it may take for the swastika to regain its universal positivity is unclear.  It many parts of the world which were mainly unaffected by WWII, it is still used without apology.  As for the rest, it’s hard to imagine that thousands of years of history could be counter-balanced by the Nazi denigration of the symbol for long.”