Between the red canyon walls of Canyon de Chelly in Arizona, in the heart of the Navajo Nation, stands an eight-hundred-foot sandstone rock formation known as Spider Rock. According to Dine oral history, this sacred place is where Spider Woman, or Na ashe'ii'asdza, makes her home. For centuries, her gift of weaving has provided the Dine with a constant means of sustenance.Dine textile and basketry weavings in Santa Fe's Museum of Indian Arts and Culture collections created between the 1850s and the 1890s allow us to explore the oral history of Spider Woman and the early history of the Dine during this time. Spider Woman's Gift presents two viewpoints on Dine weaving. One is the perspective of Dine weaver and museum educator, Joyce Begay-Foss and the other viewpoint is from well-known Dine textile scholar and anthropologist, Marian Rodee.
Starting with early baskets, there is visual evidence of Spider Woman's influence