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Adopt-A-Native-Elder Program helps Navajo weavers sell traditional wares

Posted at 6:20 PM, Nov 09, 2014
and last updated 2014-11-09 20:20:04-05

PARK CITY, Utah — Around 750 traditional Navajo rugs were on sale this weekend in Park City as part of the 25th annual Navajo Rug Show.

The show was put on by the Adopt-A-Native-Elder Program, which focuses on helping the last of the traditional Navajo elderly.

Hundreds of weavers brought their rugs to the show, and all proceeds made from the sales went back to the weavers.

The ANEP supports about 500 traditional Navajo weavers and their families with food and medical supplies throughout the year, but organizers said this show is important for the weavers as well.

“The real reason we do this is because they’ve never learned English, they don’t speak English, they don’t have a way to sell their rugs, and so we’re the voice,” said Linda Myers, who is the founder of the program.

Myers said it’s also good for the weavers to see people appreciating their rugs for the value and beauty behind them instead of just seeing them as a trade.

For more information about the Adopt-A-Native-Elder Program, click here.