Tyrrell Tapaha

Work

Tapaha's work explores "the complexity of lived experience, imagined futures and the rich history of their community." They have also developed, with Ira Vandever, a blended fiber from hemp combined with Churro wool, and often combines several types of fiber in a single work. One of Tapaha's passions are the Diné teachings and kinship system of K'e. the Museum of Contemporary Arts Flagstaff, among other venues. Their work has been featured in the Baltimore Sun, the Navajo Times and Hyperalleric, Native American Art Magazine among other publications. They are one of four Diné artists featured in the film Weaving the Future directed by Shaun Price.

The content of the work investigates and challenges colonialist frameworks regarding Navajo weaving, for example in the piece, Áshkii Gáamalii : The Boy Who Lives in Two Worlds, that includes the embroidered text, KKKolonization Killz, as an affront towards and resistance to the "sustained violence that the settler state has forced upon Indigenous peoples, and not just in governmental policies". The work also sheds light on the inequities of the often-idealized trading post system, where Indigenous weavers were not paid a living wage for their work. Tapaha describes this holistic approach as fueled by an interest in "the ecology, the hydrology and just the generalized land management that comes with [this] process.” They go on to state: I think it’s powerful to know that the thing that not only sustains me financially, emotionally and spiritually is the thing that also sustains the land in the same way, it sustains the sheep in the same way, and that is really powerful. In 2025, Tapaha's work was shown at the Zimmerli Museum.

Awards and collections In 2022 they received the Brandford/Elliott Award from the American Textile Society. the collection of the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture, and Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art.