Petate Weaving Workshop: Honoring the Ancestors Through Tradition
As part of a series of knowledge-sharing events celebrating Indigenous Peoples’ Day, tribal members, families, and community members gathered in Presidio, Texas, for a deeply meaningful workshop dedicated to weaving petates, or burial mats, for ancestors who had been returned from various university and museum collections.
Petate Weaving Workshop: Honoring Ancestral Legacies Through Revived Traditions
Petate Weaving Workshop: Honoring Ancestral Legacies Through Revived Traditions
As part of a broader series of knowledge-sharing events commemorating Indigenous Peoples’ Day, tribal members, families, and community partners convened in Presidio, Texas, for a ceremonial and educational workshop centered on the weaving of petates — traditional burial mats — for ancestors who were repatriated from university and museum collections. This workshop represented a deeply significant moment in the ongoing effort to restore cultural practices, honor ancestral legacies, and heal historical disruptions caused by centuries of displacement.
The weaving of petates holds profound cultural and spiritual meaning among the People of La Junta. Historically, these mats served not only as practical items but also as sacred objects used in burial practices, symbolizing the cyclical relationship between life, death, earth, and water. Crafted from cattails, a native plant abundant in the riverlands of La Junta, each mat embodies endurance, sustenance, and resilience. The process of gathering, preparing, and weaving these natural materials reinforces the community’s connection to place and underscores the enduring ecological knowledge that has guided Indigenous lifeways for generations.
The workshop, envisioned by elder Xoxi Nayapiltzin, Arian Velasquez-Ornelas and Christina Hernandez, was designed to be both a hands-on cultural learning experience and a ceremonial act of remembrance. Participants learned traditional harvesting and weaving techniques, discussed the historical and cultural context of petates, and reflected on the enduring importance of these practices as part of the reburial process. By using only natural, locally sourced materials, the workshop emphasized sustainable, land-based stewardship and the integral role of the Rio Grande and its surrounding ecosystems in shaping Indigenous identity and survival.
Beyond its practical outcomes, the event served as a powerful act of community restoration and intergenerational knowledge transfer. It created a space where descendants and community members could collectively honor those who came before them, strengthening social bonds and reaffirming shared responsibility for cultural preservation. The resulting burial mats, woven with care and intention, were integral to ensuring a dignified and respectful return of ancestral remains to the earth — a homecoming that, in many cases, came after hundreds of years of absence.
This workshop was part of a broader initiative led by People of La Junta for Preservation to reclaim, revitalize, and teach traditional practices as a means of cultural continuity and healing. Through collaborative efforts with community partners, such programs are not only reviving ancestral arts but also embedding them within contemporary acts of sovereignty, memory, and land stewardship.
The Petate Weaving Workshop was made possible through the generous support of the Mellon Foundation, whose partnership has enabled the continued development of cultural programming that bridges the past and present, strengthens community identity, and honors the enduring presence of Indigenous peoples in the La Junta region.
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