um
this is navajo land
25 000 miles of seemingly endless
geological art encompassing parts of
utah colorado new mexico and arizona
it's a nation within a nation steeped in
beauty and tradition
but more and more the face of the navajo
landscape is changing
economic development is being encouraged
on the reservation an area rich in
natural and human resources
many of the hogans that still dot the
reservation at one time were the primary
form of housing
today it's in these hogans that the
tribal tradition of rug weaving is
practiced and passed on from generation
to generation
using the dexterity developed through
years of honing this craft a group of
women at the navajo-owned henry hillson
company have sewn some of the blue
jumpsuits worn by nasa astronauts
each suit required 150 separate sewing
functions and nearly all met nasa's
rigorous acceptance standards
it's a long way from the navajo
reservation to the shuttle simulators
and training aircraft at nasa's johnson
space center in houston
but it's the contrast that makes this
relationship so intriguing
for the novels
self-sufficiency
we want
people outside the reservation to know
that navajo nation is saying come
just come see navajo
give us your bottom line let us work
with you
because navajo means business and we
like to have businesses for our young
people
sewing the astronaut suits
using old world skills in a modern day
effort