American Indian Culture and Research Journal

This article draws upon ethnographic fieldwork within a Navajo community to illustrate how weaving knowledge and practices shape contemporary notions of community identity and belonging. The ongoing exchange of Navajo weaving taboos and the careful management of weaving teachings offers community members various opportunities to share and keep certain kinds of information in and out of circulation. The flow of such knowledge provides a productive context for community members to voice their ideas and opinions about a range of topics, including concepts of inalienable patrimony, reciprocity, qualities of personhood and prized personal characteristics, and the exchange of knowledge more generally.