Nampeyo, Melda

Born in 1959, Melda Nampeyo was the granddaughter of Hopi-Tewa potter Fannie Nampeyo and daughter of Leah Garcia Nampeyo and Lewis Garcia (Laguna, 1928-1974). Among her siblings were James Garcia Nampeyo and Rayvin Garcia Nampeyo.

Melda was known for producing polychrome jars decorated with a migration pattern design. Her first pieces appeared in the marketplace when she was still a teenager but back in those days, her mother and grandmother did most of her painting for her. By 1985 she was painting her own pieces but she stayed almost entirely with a version of the migration pattern for her pottery decorations for the rest of her life.