Petroglyph rug show celebrates Navajo weaving traditions in Albuquerque
A free rug show at Petroglyph National Monument brought Navajo weavers, traders and buyers together, reviving a tradition last held there in 2017.
The patio outside Petroglyph National Monument’s Information Center turned into a working showcase for Navajo weaving, with visitors stopping to watch, shop and learn from the people carrying the tradition forward. The Hubbell Trading Post rug show, held July 13-14, 2024, ran from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day and offered free access to rug talks, weaving demonstrations and Native art for anyone passing through one of Bernalillo County’s most visited public spaces.
The event centered on two voices from the Navajo arts world. Trader Wallace James Jr. led rug talks at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. each day, while weaver Tonita Yazzie demonstrated weaving throughout the event. Together, they gave the show a purpose beyond sales: James connected Navajo artistry, history and enduring traditions through personal storytelling, and Yazzie showed the precision and cultural meaning behind traditional Navajo textiles in real time. Visitors could also shop authentic Navajo rugs and jewelry, bringing direct economic support to artists working in a living tradition.
The rug show’s setting gave it added weight. Petroglyph National Monument was set aside in 1990 to protect one of the largest petroglyph concentrations in North America, and the National Park Service says it contains more than 25,000 fragile petroglyph images. The monument is jointly managed by the National Park Service and the City of Albuquerque, with some adjacent lands owned by the State of New Mexico. It protects images made by Native Americans and Spanish settlers over roughly 400 to 700 years, and some petroglyphs in the broader park date back to 2000 BC.
Hubbell Trading Post brought that history with it. The trading post in Ganado, Arizona, has sold goods and traded Native American art since 1878, making it the oldest operating trading post on the Navajo Nation, according to the National Park Service. Congress established Hubbell Trading Post National Historic Site on Aug. 28, 1965. The Petroglyph stop was the first return of the Hubbell event to the monument since 2017 and part of a broader Hubbell on the Road series that moves through Southwest park sites. In Albuquerque, the result was a public gathering that linked cultural preservation, local access and the ongoing market for Navajo art.
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