The Lost City Museum will host two Native American weavers on Saturday, February 19 from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Native American Weaving Day will feature Navajo rug weaver Alice Turquoise and Moapa Paiute basket weaver Everett Pikyavit.
“The museum invites visitors to come see two expert craftsmen demonstrate the art of basket weaving and rug weaving,” said curator Dena Sedar.
Alice Turquoise is a Navajo rug weaver who has been perfecting her craft throughout her lifetime. Now in her eighties and living in Marble Canyon, Ariz., she is still active in creating and selling jewelry and rugs.
Some of her rugs are of the Bird Pictorial pattern or “Tree of Life.” According to Turquoise, “this pattern symbolizes the abundance of life around me.”
Everett Pikyavit is a Moapa Paiute weaver who creates baskets in the Southern Paiute and Goshute basketry styles. One of Pikyavit’s greatest influences as a basket weaver was his paternal grandmother, Lila Benson Rogers.
“As a child I warmly recall sitting next to my grandmother, Lila, playing with my trucks and other toys, as she worked on her baskets,” said Pikyavit. “Sometimes she would gather willows along a creek in Utah or Nevada, collecting different sizes of willow for different baskets, while I would play or wade in the water.”
After a visit to the Lost City Museum in 1999, Pikyavit was inspired to gather local resources as his grandmother had and began the process of weaving baskets as his ancestors had done. Pikyavit is working to pass on his knowledge of basket weaving to Southern Paiute individuals as a way for this ancient art form to continue into the future.
Pikyavit and Turquoise will have wares available for sale at the event.
The Lost City Museum is open Thursday through Sunday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Regular admission charge is $5 for adults, children under 18 and members enter free. For more information, call the museum at (702) 397-2193.
