The Department of Ethnic Studies UC Berkeley

Second-year PhD student, Larissa Nez, recently authored the essay, “Reuniting & Returning: Balancing our Universe through Weaving,” featured in the exhibition catalogue, Horizons: Weaving Between the Lines with Diné Textiles, edited by Hadley W. Jensen and published by the Museum of New Mexico Press.

 

Larissa’s essay explores the ways that Diné (Navajo) women were explicitly effected by new colonial economies that negatively impacted the ways weavings were configured, and disfigured, from the mid-twentieth century onwards. Her insights include a historical analysis of trading post economies, cultural beliefs around Diné weaving and feminism, and future implications for museums who seek to restore Diné autonomy in their spaces. Notably, Larissa began the manuscript for this essay in ES 202: Cultural Texts: Contemporary Theory and Methods, taught by Keith Feldman in Fall 2022. 

 

In 2022, Larissa was invited to serve as a member of the Advisory Committee for Horizons. For nearly two years, the Advisory Committee has closely collaborated with the co-curators, Dr. Hadley Welch Jensen and Rapheal Begay, provided scholarly interpretation of materials featured in the exhibition, contributed Diné culture and language guidance, and participated in panels and events associated with the exhibition. Through the exhibition and its accompanying publication from the Museum of New Mexico Press, the team behind Horizons strives to advance new interpretive frameworks that specifically work with, and towards, decolonial and community-oriented methodologies. 

 

Horizons: Weaving Between the Lines with Diné Textiles is currently on view at the Museum of Indian Arts & Culture in Santa Fe, NM until February 2, 2025. 

 

To learn more about Horizons, see the cover story for the Santa Fe Reporter, Where the Sky Meets the Land. 

 

The Horizons catalogue is also available for pre-order at Barnes & Noble, Amazon, and Indie-Bound and will begin shipping Mid-June 2024.