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Navajo Baskets And The American Indian Voice: Searching For The Contemporary Native American In The Trading Post, The Natural History Museum, And The Fine Art Museum, Laura Paulsen Howe

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines the display of Navajo baskets and examines some of the possible meanings Navajo baskets can reveal. Acknowledging that the meaning of a work of art changes when it is placed in different environments, the thesis explores what meanings are revealed and what meanings are concealed in basket displays in three venues: the trading post, the natural history museum, and the fine art museum. The study concludes that the fine art museum has the most potential to foster a dialogue about the contemporary Navajo, whose identity is a product of continuity and change. Chapter one discusses the basket's …