A Rebirth of Hopi Art

In the summer of 1895 an American archeologist named J. Wallace Fewkes began excavating the remains of the pueblo of Sikyatki in Northeast Arizona. According to Hopi legend the village was destroyed during a dispute over land and water rights between its residents and the pueblo of Walpi, a few miles away. Fewkes came to the conclusion that this had happened in 14th century, at a time when the Hopis were producing some of the best pottery in North America. The forms were simple, functional and beautifully proportioned. The designs on these vessels were painted in brown, red and black onto a light, yellow-brown clay. These designs were rich in symbolism as they are today. Among the assistants at the dig was a Tewa Indian named Lesou whose wife, Nampeyo, was part Hopi.

As a child Nampeyo learned to make pottery from her Mother “White Corn” from the pueblo of Hano on the northeastern end of the First Mesa. By then Nampeyo was an accomplished potter in the Hopi style of the day. When her Husband began to bring home pottery shards from the dig she realized that her bowls and pitchers were inferior to the work of her remote ancestors. Going to the Sityatki ruins she began to study the designs, making drawings and searching out where the clay had originated from. Nampeyo started to duplicate the designs and shapes with great quality. Soon after, she allowed her own imagination to take over. “I used to go to the ancient village and copy the designs” she once said. “But now I just close my eyes and see designs and I paint them.” Nampeyo began to travel to the Grand Canyon and faraway places like Chicago in 1898 for an exposition as her work became more and more in demand. During this time other potters from the Hopi Mesas began to work in the revitalized ancient Hopi style. Thereafter for some 15 years, she worked at major fairs and expositions. By 1915, however, her sight began to fail, five years later was nearly blind. Though she could no longer paint she would still shape the vessels and her daughters decorated them.

Nampeyo passed away on July 20th, 1942. Her legacy lives on in the Hopi pottery you see today and displayed in museums and exhibits around the world.

- Richard Witt

Ref.: "Art of Clay" by Lee M. Cohen, "America's Fascinating Indian Heritage" by Reader's Digest