The swastika is an old Navajo motif, appearing frequently in Navajo weavings. Since the Navajos stopped using swastikas (or “whirling logs” as they called them) after the symbol was appropriated by the Nazis, the appearance of the symbol dates a Navajo weaving to before 1935, when the Nazis officially adopted the symbol.

The symbol also helps date architecture in the Southwest. Prior to World War II, the swastika was borrowed for decoration of “Pueblo Revival” architecture. Thus, there are a lot of old buildings in the Southwestern United States festooned with swastikas. Extant examples in Downtown Albuquerque include the Kimo Theater (1927) on Central (Historic Route 66) , and the old federal courthouse on Gold Avenue. The courthouse, a Works Project Administration building from the 1930’s, has excellent examples of WPA-era murals, and many swastikas in the Southwestern-style details of its architecture, and carved in the furnishings of the grand court room on the top floor.


Sources:

Aigner, Dennis J.; The Swastika Symbol in Navajo Textiles (DAI Press, 2000).

Pre-WWII Arizona Highway sign with swastika: http://mdo20.tripod.com/az/az64.jpg

Detail of decoration of Kimo Theater, Albuquerque, New Mexico:

http://www.collectorsguide.com/fa/fa086.shtml