In most Indian tribes, women farmed while men hunted and fished.  In the
Southwest, however, farming was considered men's work, and women of tribes
like the Navajo had time to raise the crafts of basketry and weaving to
art forms.  Navajo weaving is an old tradition.  In the photograph above,
a Navajo woman is weaving a blanket on a loom whose design dates back to
the 1600s.  Navajo blankets, whether simple or intricate in design, are
famous.  The best-known are the "chief's blankets," which are so tightly
woven that water will not penetrate them.