This blanket shows how textile traditions can be affected by economic factors. It was donated to the Smithsonian in 1938 as a Navajo weaving. However, its small size, fringe, central serrated diamond motif, and bands of narrow stripes near either
end clearly reveal that it is a Hispanic New Mexican piece.
This confusion was due in part to the desire of
Hispanic weavers to increase sales of their textiles to tourists.
Many tourists considered Indian weaving more authentic than Hispanic
weaving, so Hispanic weavers in northern New Mexico began producing textiles with design elements and color
schemes like those seen here, which fit the tourists' stereotypes of Indian weaving.
