I get some crazy questions during my presentations, but this was really out there. It was a question with an explanation. Are there black sheep? The woman went on to say that a docent at the Heard Museum was describing a Navajo rug. On the rug was a black sheep which he promptly told those in attendance, that there were no such things as black sheep and the Navajo who had woven the rug dyed the wool black. Please note, Virginia, yes there are black sheep! Navajo-Churro sheep come in a variety of colors, including blue, black, brown, etc. And there are all black sheep here in Arizona. I added pictures to prove my point.
A variety of colors in Navajo Churro Sheep. Notice the black sheep!Another non-white Navajo-Churro Sheep.Black sheep among a flock of white! At one time, sheep raisers would have one black sheep for every 100 white sheep, but that is not the case anymore, at least in Arizona.
It came to my attention a few years ago that the sheep industry in Arizona was disappearing. I love history, traveling to new places and research. These have been combined in researching this history. I am an independent researcher and speaker and also part of AZ Speaks with the Arizona Humanities. I hold a BA in Anthropology, a MA and Ph.D. in geography. My masters was in land use geography and the Ph.D. was more in historical geography. I love to travel and have visited all seven continents and more than 50 countries. I am a member of the Women Writing the West.
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