The 21st annual Navajo Rug Show and Sale will take place at Deer Valley Resort, November 12–14. The annual event provides guests the opportunity to enjoy Native American culture through song, dance, storytelling and artwork; and to help support Native American elders by purchasing their custom-created rugs, jewelry and art.
The Rug Show is organized by the Adopt-A-Native Elder Program (ANE) of Park City. The Adopt-A-Native-Elder Program exists to create a bridge of hope between Native Americans and other cultures. It allows us to reach out to one another, share our gifts, and mend the broken circle of our relationship with the Land and the Native Americans who hold it in sacred trust. The Program supports the traditional Elders who live in the cultural andspiritual traditions of The Dine' People. Most live inremote portions of the Dine's (Navajo) reservation. Many live in traditional hogans, and some raise sheep as a means of maintaining themselves. The Program provides food, simple medicines, clothing, fabric and yarns to help these Elders live on the Land in their traditional lifestyle. As they have become elderly, it has become more difficult for them to support themselves on the Land in their traditional ways. See www.adoptanativeelder.org for more information.
The Montessori Community School proudly sponsors three Navajo grandmothers through this valuable program: Emma Bahe, Roseline Jackson, and Elvira Horseherder. Each year, our students raise money through our annual Fun Run for our grandmothers. We use the money to purchase gift certificates to Walmart (the only real shopping option that they have and it does afford them the opportunity to buy most items that they need - such as clothing, household and gardening items etc.) and also purchase several boxes of yarn for them to use to weave the beautiful rugs that they sell at the Deer Valley Rug Show eachfall (the money raised from the sale of the rugs is their main source of income for the year). If we collect enough money we also buy gift certificates for the Bashi food stores that operate on the reservations.
Each fall Grandmother Elvira attends the rug show and Grandmother Roseline (who does not speak any English) has attended a few times. Our Kindergarten and Elementary students are given the opportunity to attend special cultural events on the Thursday and Friday prior to the first public event and spend time with Grandmother Elvira and Grandmother Roseline. Grandmother Elvira has also visited our school to talk to all the children about her life on the reservation. She is a wonderful woman with a generous spirit and the children love the interaction with her.
