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| | Burntwater
| Chief
| Chinle
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| | Crystal
| Eyedazzler
| Ganado
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| | Klagetoh
| New Lands
| Pictorial
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| | Sandpainting
| Storm
| Teec Nos Pos
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| | Tree of Life
| Two Grey Hills
| Wide Ruins
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| | Yei
| Yaibichai
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from A Guide To Navajo Rugs
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The Chief "blanket" is the earliest established weaving style known. The name comes from the high status of those
Pueblo and Plains people to whom the Navajos (who do not have chiefs) traded them.
A Chief blanket today is distinguished by its square shape and by its plain design in blue and red, black and white.
When the four corners of a Chief are folded to meet at the center, the design is the same as when it is unfolded.
The basic patten has evolved over time, in four phases:
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The first Chiefs were woven in plain stripes of blue, white, black, and brown.
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During the second phase, when bayeta became available to replace brown, weavers also added short red bars to the design.
Bayeta, from baize, is a red woolen cloth imported
by the Spanish and unravelled by Navajo weavers to make yarn. The deep red color came from
cochineal, a dye made from crushed insects.
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Third phase Chiefs are the most popular today. They are a little more elaborate,
with stepped triangles in addition to the stripes of the original Chiefs.
Rose-colored wool is sometimes used instead of red.
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Finally, in the fourth phase, the stripes have been subsumed into squares against a solid background.
Fourth phase Chiefs are rarely woven today.
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| | First Phase
| Second Phase
| Third Phase
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