In Ganado, Arizona, Diné (Navajo) shepherd and weaver Nikyle Begay grew up hearing stories and reading old newspaper clippings about the intricately designed textiles woven by the late master weaver Julia Bah Joe and her family. Out of the hundreds of weavings that Joe created in nearby Greasewood, one always stood apart from the rest: a 250-pound masterpiece rug made of hand-spun and dyed wool called “Diyogí Tsoh” (“The Big Rug”). Now, the majestic work, long known as the “Hubbell-Joe Rug,” has been relabeled with its Diné name at the Affeldt Mion Museum (AMM).
In the decades after its completion in 1937, Diyogí Tsoh was exhibited at the Hubbell Trading Post and at Hubbell’s Motor Company in Winslow. Billed “the world’s largest Navajo rug,” it toured various venues and events around the country, including the Senate chambers in Washington, DC, in 1945, the New York World’s Fair in Queens in 1964, and the Heard Museum in Phoenix in 1965.
“After the rug was surpassed in size in 1977, many began referring to the weaving as ‘Hubbell’s Rug’ or ‘The Hubbell Rug’ since the idea to create the world’s largest Navajo rug came from Lorenzo Hubbell Jr.,” Lori Bentley Law, creative director at the AMM, told Hyperallergic in an email, referencing the “Big Sister” rug by the Chilchinbeto community that was completed in 1979.
Spanning 33 feet in length and 21 feet in width, Diyogí Tsoh features intricately stitched, vibrant patterns inspired by the night sky, Ancestral Puebloan pottery, and regional fauna. When it went on display at the AMM two years ago, the sight left Begay at a loss for words.
“I was speechless,” Begay told Hyperallergic. “I could almost see the sheep that were sheared that Julia raised, and I could imagine, as a shepherd and as a weaver, the emotion that she must have felt, doing all the work and then getting to weave that magnificent piece.”
Julia Joe (foreground) and Lillie Joe Hill (background) working on Diyogí Tsoh (image courtesy Old Trails Museum/Winslow Historical Society)
Last month, as first reported by the Navajo Times, the AMM completed the renaming of the rug, changing its display label from the “Hubbell-Joe Rug” to what most Diné locals have long known it by. The effort comes after more than a year of widespread advocacy and consultations between the museum and Joe’s family members to honor its cultural heritage and the Diné community that made it.
Dustin Roberdo, a University of New Mexico student who was involved in updating the exhibit, told Hyperallergic that the effort was a welcome sign of community collaboration.
“When a museum establishes connections to regional makers and families that have works represented within their organization, it provides the opportunity for partnership and ongoing education,” Roberdo said.
Lillie Hill, with one of their flock (photo courtesy the Joe family collection)
Produced amid devastating government-enforced policies, including land allotments and livestock reduction, Diyogí Tsoh was initially commissioned by Hubbell Jr. as a way to draw customers to his businesses in Ganado amid the depression-stricken economy. The project was led by Joe and her daughter Lillie Hill, who did much of the weaving after Joe fell ill, with significant contributions from family members, who sheared, washed, carded, and dyed wool from hundreds of sheep, and weavers in the Kin ł ichii’nii (Red House) Clan, who helped spin the wool.
Diyogí Tsoh passed through several owners following Hubbell’s death in 1942, and was eventually put in storage in 1986. In 2012, the rug was acquired by AMM’s founders Allan Affeldt and Tina Mion, who renamed it the “Hubbell-Joe Rug” to recognize Joe’s work and later donated it to the Winslow Arts Trust, a regional cultural nonprofit. Its exhibition at the AMM is part of a long-term loan from the trust.
“Naming has been in discussion amongst the members of the Winslow Arts Trust and the Affeldt Mion Museum since before the exhibit opened in 2023,” Law said. “It was a matter of finding the right name.”
Grace Curley, a great-granddaughter of Joe, told Hyperallergic that she believes Diyogí Tsoh is the rug’s correct name. Citing the rug’s “remarkable” preservation, she added that it brought her joy “to see the talents of many Navajo women tell a story of their art in weaving.”
The rug was recently renamed by the museum after years of community advocacy and collaborations with family members. (photo courtesy the Affeldt Mion Museum)
Diyogí Tsoh in Greasewood, Arizona (photo courtesy National Park Service/ Hubbell Trading Post National Historic Site/HUTR#)
Diyogí Tsoh laid out in Greasewood, Arizona (photo courtesy National Park Service/ Hubbell Trading Post National Historic Site/HUTR)
