Vintage Navajo Rug Yeibichai
Mid-20th Century American Navajo North and South American Rugs
Wool
Mid-20th Century American Navajo North and South American Rugs
Wool
Late 20th Century American Navajo North and South American Rugs
Wool
Mid-20th Century American Navajo North and South American Rugs
Wool
Mid-20th Century American Navajo North and South American Rugs
Wool
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Mid-20th Century American Navajo North and South American Rugs
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Early 20th Century American Native American Objects
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Antique Late 19th Century American Navajo Rugs
Wool
Mid-20th Century American Adirondack North and South American Rugs
Wool
Vintage 1930s American Native American Indian Rugs
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Late 20th Century Realist Figurative Prints
Paper, Lithograph
Late 20th Century Realist Figurative Prints
Screen
Late 20th Century Realist Figurative Prints
Paper, Lithograph
Mid-20th Century North American Navajo Rugs
Wool
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Decorative Art
Ceramic
Early 20th Century American Navajo North and South American Rugs
Wool
Early 20th Century American Navajo North and South American Rugs
Wool
Late 20th Century Realist Figurative Prints
Lithograph
Antique Late 19th Century American Native American Native American Objects
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Vintage 1940s Persian Navajo North and South American Rugs
Wool
Late 20th Century Realist Figurative Prints
Lithograph
Recent Sales
20th Century American Navajo Rugs
Wool
Vintage 1950s American Native American North and South American Rugs
Wool
Vintage 1930s American Native American North and South American Rugs
Wool
Mid-20th Century American Navajo North and South American Rugs
Wool
Vintage 1940s American Native American Rugs
Wool
Vintage 1920s American Native American North and South American Rugs
Wool
20th Century American Native American Native American Objects
Wool
Mid-20th Century American Navajo Native American Objects
Wool
A Close Look at native-american Furniture
Native American broadly describes any Indigenous people in North America and encompasses hundreds of tribes and groups, all with distinct cultures. Native American–style furniture and decor likewise varies widely, from pieces created by Indigenous people to those appropriated by non-native designers.
Indigenous furniture’s rich heritage includes the bentwood boxes of the Northwest Coast carved from cedar for storing household or ceremonial objects. Generations of Native American people have made baskets for holding household items, with those in the Northeast using sweetgrass and those in the Southeast using pine needles and wicker. Artisans in the Plateau region wove watertight pieces like cradles from plant materials. Although these objects were intricately made, they were usually utilitarian rather than decorative.
The colonization of North America and the removal of Indigenous people from their lands led to the suppression of these practices. Many styles that used Native American motifs — such as Southwestern style, which was heavily influenced by the geometric patterns of Navajo textiles — have historically not involved Indigenous creators and, instead, have taken their traditions without their tribal context.
When decorating a home with Native American–style furniture, it is important to do so respectfully, by understanding the origins of motifs and objects and examining who profits from their sale. There are now Indigenous-led companies, such as Cherokee designer Cray Bauxmont-Flynn’s Amatoya and Totem House Design, promoting Indigenous work in furniture and home decor. Supporting Indigenous artists and artisans is essential to confronting the still pervasive issue of cultural appropriation in design.
Find a collection of Native American living room furniture, folk art, rugs and carpets, decorative objects and other items on 1stDibs.