Tyrrell Tapaha (born 2001) is a

Diné The Navajo or Diné are an Native Americans in the United States, Indigenous people of the Southwestern United States. Their traditional language is Navajo language, Diné bizaad, a Southern Athabascan language. The states with the largest Din ...

textile artist who makes pictorial woven works. Tapaha is a sixth generation weaver who grew up on the

Navajo Nation The Navajo Nation (), also known as Navajoland, is an Indian reservation of Navajo people in the United States. It occupies portions of northeastern Arizona, northwestern New Mexico, and southeastern Utah. The seat of government is located in ...

at Goat Springs, Arizona. In 2022 they received the Brandford/Elliott Award from the American Textile Society.

Early life

Tapaha grew up on the Navajo Nation in the

Four Corners Four Corners is a region of the Southwestern United States consisting of the southwestern corner of Colorado, southeastern corner of Utah, northeastern corner of Arizona, and northwestern corner of New Mexico. Most of the Four Corners regio ...

region of northeastern Arizona near T'iis Názbạs ( Teec Nos Pos), where they learned traditional weaving from their family, helping to herd sheep and spin yarn. It was through their great-grandmother, Mary Kady Clah and other family members, that Tapaha learned the art and craft of weaving. Tapaha has stated that they use "archaic tools to make contemporary stories. Tapaha began weaving at the age of seven.

Work

Tapaha's work explores "the complexity of lived experience, imagined futures and the rich history of their community." Using a vertical, traditional Navajo-type loom with a batten and weaving comb, they produce woven textiles and fiber art using hand spun vegetal matter dyed Navajo-Churro fleece, alpaca (Navajo-raised as well as New Zealand-raised), mohair, and merino wools in a style that combines contemporary with traditional imagery. Tapaha gathers desert plants from Arizona and Utah to make the dyes used in the weavings. They also use contemporary alternative fibrous materials, for example, recycled plastic yarn. Tapaha has described the work as collage-like "visual abstraction" in which woven pieces are broken apart and then rewoven "back together in some type of amorphous figure." They have also developed, with Ira Vandever, a blended fiber from hemp combined with Churro wool, and often combines several types of fiber in a single work. In addition to the pictorial textiles he weaves, he is also a printmaker and creates felted objects that are both utilitarian and aesthetic. One of Tapaha's passions are the Diné teachings and kinship system of K'e. Tapaha has stated: Tapaha's work has been exhibited at the

Museum of Indian Arts and Culture The Museum of Indian Arts and Culture is a museum of Native American art and culture located in Santa Fe, New Mexico. It is one of eight museums in the state operated by the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs and is accredited by the Ame ...

in Santa Fe, the Museum of Contemporary Arts Flagstaff, among other venues. Their work has been featured in the

Baltimore Sun ''The Baltimore Sun'' is the largest general-circulation daily newspaper based in the U.S. state of Maryland and provides coverage of local, regional, national, and international news. Founded in 1837, the newspaper was owned by Tribune Publish ...

, the

Navajo Times The ''Navajo Times'' – known during the early 1980s as ''Navajo Times Today'' – is a newspaper created by the Navajo Tribal Council in 1959; in 1982 it was the first daily newspaper owned and published by a Native American Indian Nation. No ...

and Hyperalleric, Native American Art Magazine among other publications. They are one of four Diné artists featured in the film ''Weaving the Future'' directed by Shaun Price. Nicholas Geib has made a short documentary film on Tapaha and their work. The content of the work investigates and challenges colonialist frameworks regarding Navajo weaving, for example in the piece, ''Áshkii Gáamalii : The Boy Who Lives in Two Worlds,'' that includes the embroidered text, ''KKKolonization Killz'', as an affront towards and resistance to the "sustained violence that the settler state has forced upon Indigenous peoples, and not just in governmental policies". The work also sheds light on the inequities of the often-idealized

trading post A trading post, trading station, or trading house, also known as a factory in European and colonial contexts, is an establishment or settlement where goods and services could be traded. Typically a trading post allows people from one geogr ...

system, where Indigenous weavers were not paid a living wage for their work. In addition to their "from sheep-to-loom" artistic practice, Tapaha is a full-time sheep herder on the Navajo Nation in the Four Corners area. Tapaha describes this holistic approach as fueled by an interest in "the ecology, the hydrology and just the generalized land management that comes with

his His or HIS may refer to: Computing * Hightech Information System, a Hong Kong graphics card company * Honeywell Information Systems * Hybrid intelligent system * Microsoft Host Integration Server Education * Hangzhou International School, ...

process.” They go on to state: In 2024, Tapaha had a solo show at The Valley gallery in Taos, New Mexico. The exhibition included weavings, sculpture and photographs made at the Tapaha family' sheep camp. In 2025, Tapaha's work was shown at the Zimmerli Museum.

Awards and collections

In 2022 they received the Brandford/Elliott Award from the American Textile Society. Tapaha's work is included in the Tia Collection the collection of the

, and

Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art is a museum of American art in Bentonville, Arkansas. The museum, founded by Alice Walton and designed by Moshe Safdie, officially opened on 11 November 2011. It offers free public admission. Overview ...

Early life

Work

Awards and collections

See also

References

Further reading