This weaving is complex in its design, iconography, and execution. The subject is derived from Windway, a ceremony practiced by both Navajo and Chiricahua Apache. The four standing Yei figures represent Holy Wind people “dressed” with snakes. The central column of stacked black triangles represents clouds, and the guardian rainbow figure that surrounds the group signifies spiritual power.

The production of unusually large weavings like this requires tremendous effort and took up to three years to complete. This work required the construction of a special large loom and at least twenty pounds of carded, spun, natural and dyed wool to produce. It was commissioned by Herbert D. Lore for his trading post and tourist attraction, the Stone Tree House, now the Painted Desert Inn in the Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona.

While the Navajo weaving tradition dates back over three hundred years, images of Yei, or gods, taken from sand-painting did not appear until the early twentieth century. Nonetheless, these textiles are not themselves considered sacred objects.