Susie Cly Yazzie was a well known master rug maker who maintained a traditional Navajo lifestyle. She was also a Movie Star as she starred in John Wayne and John Ford movies.
She was considered a true beauty and the most photographed Navajo woman, photographed by numerous famous photographers.
She spent untold hours shearing, carding, dying and spinning her own wool in order tocreate her beautiful rugs. She went on to marry her husband, Tully, and raised a family of five strong children. During that time Susie served her community as a midwife, and offered her skills as a diagnostic “hand trembler.”
Susie prided herself on managing her home and business, and she learned her self-sufficient ways while growing up on the reservation. Her family believes she was born in the spring of 1914, however, no one could be absolutely certain of Susie’s age as records were not kept in those days.
Susie Yazzie passed away at age of 90 on February 3, 2013. She was surrounded by her family during her last days on Earth.
The younger woman in the painting is her daughter Effie.
