Commercial Influence
The intervention of Anglo-American traders in the production and marketing of Navajo woven textiles continued into the 20th century. Many traders, like Cozy MacSparron in Chinle, John Lorenzo Hubbel in Ganado, or J.B. Moore in Crystal taught and encouraged native craftspeople to use locally available vegetable dyes, or brought native weavers examples of the kinds of rugs they knew would be the most popular among Eastern buyers.
Not all of the commercial pressure on material and stylistic development of these textiles came from groups outside the reservation. The Navajo Arts and Crafts Guild (now the Navajo Arts and Crafts Enterprise) was established near Window Rock in 1941 by the Navajo Council, and has worked from then on to improve products and techniques, and to connect Navajo craftspeople to a wide variety of new markets. The commercial nature of the weavings has resulted in the continual improvement and innovation of materials, techniques and designs.
