Navajo Swastika

The historic Hubbell Trading Post in Ganado, Arizona was established in 1876 and is still a functioning trading post today.  It was opened by John Lorenzo Hubbell and was home for him and his family until his death.  The Hubbell home is filled with antique furniture, works of art, and Navajo rugs.  One of the rugs is shown here with the Navajo Swastika woven in.  The Swastika was a Navajo symbol long before Hitler chose it to represent the Nazi party.  According to Navajo teachings the four points of the swastika represent many things:  the four seasons - winter, summer, fall, spring; the four directions - north, south, east, west; the four sacred Navajo crops - corn, beans, squash, and cotton, and the four sacred mountains that define the Navajo Nation - Mount Blanca, Mount Taylor, San Francisco Peak and Mount Hesperas.  It was fascinating to learn so much about Native American history as we ferreted out these, sometimes very remote, trading posts.  The Hubbell Trading Post is now owned by the United States government and is a National Historic Site.