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Dextra Nampeyo

1928 Polacca, First Mesa, Arizona - 2019

BiographyDextra Quotskuyva Nampeyo was born into a family of Hopi-Tewa potters in 1928: the great-granddaughter of Nampeyo of Hano, granddaughter of Annie Healing Nampeyeo, daughter of Rachel Namingha, and sister of Priscilla Namingha. She grew up watching her family making pottery and helped by gathering and processing the clay. Then her mother would have her fill in the designs drawn on the pottery before painting her own designs and creating her own pots.

Dextra Nampeyo did not start focusing on making pottery until around 1967. She was constantly encouraged in this by her mother, who also encouraged her to stick to the traditional style. After the death of her mother in 1985, Nampeyo began to experiment more with her pottery, creating her own style.

Nampeyo used the bee-weed plant for the black and native clay slips for the red. She uses only traditional Hopi pottery methods in hand coil construction, stone polish, paint, and open fire. She has had major museum and gallery exhibitions and received numerous honors including the 1994 Arizona Living Treasures award and the 1998 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Arizona State Museum in Tucson.

Her daughter, Hisi (Camille) Nampeyo, is a potter while her son, Dan Namingha, is a painter and sculptor. Dextra Nampeyo also taught pottery to Steve Lucas, Loren Ami, Yvonne Lucas and Les Namingha. She died in 2019.

Person TypeIndividual