Adelle Nampeyo

Adelle Nampeyo (born 1959) is a distinguished Hopi-Tewa potter and a direct descendant of one of the most famous families in Native American art. She is the great-granddaughter of the revered matriarch Nampeyo of Hano, who famously revived the ancient Sikyatki pottery traditions in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. She is also the granddaughter of Fannie Nampeyo and the daughter of Elva Nampeyo.

Learning these exacting, time-honored methods directly from her mother, Adelle began making pottery in her teens. She continues the family legacy by utilizing only native clays, hand-coiling, and traditional outdoor firing methods. Her work frequently features the classic, sweeping migration and eagle tail motifs made famous by her great-grandmother. Through her dedication to these ancestral techniques, Adelle Nampeyo preserves an invaluable piece of cultural history with every vessel she creates.