Piece of History
Navajo Child’s Blanket
This blanket, measuring 30 inches by 46 inches, is a child’s shoulder blanket and made of wool Bayeta, produced by unraveling woven cloth and respinning them into thread which is then used to weave these beautiful textiles. The colors of the blanket are made up of natural dyes: Red - Cochineal dyed, unraveled Bayeta yarn; Blue - Indigo dyed, native homespun wool; Yellow - Unraveled, vegetable dyed Bayeta; White - Undyed native homespun 2 ply wool; Yellow green - Unraveled, home dyed Bayeta; and the warp is undyed native homespun wool.
It was presented by Navajo Chief Manuelito to Chief Ouray of the Utes at Los Pinos Agency, Colorado. In 1879 it was given to General Charles Adams, Former Indian Agent at Los Pinos, by Chief Ouray. Adams had intervened on behalf of the Ute Indians following the Meeker Massacre of September 30, 1879 in which Nathan Meeker and 10 other Bureau of Indian Affairs employees were killed by members of the White River Utes in a rebellion against Meeker's abusive authority and increasing incursions by nearby white settlers on their lands and hunting grounds.
This blanket was exhibited at the 1903 World's Fair in St. Louis, where it was awarded first prize for Navajo weaving.
The Bedroom of Jane Phillips
In Jane’s bedroom there are wall to wall pictures of some of the special guests who frequented their Lodge home. If a guest was in Jane’s “favor”, she would request a portrait and up it went on the bedroom wall. Notable guests on the wall include President Harry Truman, Elliot Roosevelt (son of President Roosevelt), Will Rogers, Jimmy Doolittle, Rudy Vallee and Herbert Hoover are just a few. Just as intriguing, if a guest happened to fall “out of favor” with Jane, your picture was summarily removed from her wall and placed in a hidden location.