Naha, Sylvia

Sylvia Naha was born into an illustrious family of Hopi-Tewa potters in 1951. Her mother was Helen Naha, her grandmother Paqua Naha. Paqua was perfecting the whiteware style the Naha and Navasie families have become famous for about that same time.

When Sylvia was a little girl, her father, Archie Naha, unearthed a prehistoric pot while working in his cornfield below the ancient ruins of Awatovi. Some of the designs on it were destined to become Naha family trademarks.

Sylvia grew up learning how to make pottery by watching and working with her mother. Her siblings, Burel and Rainy, learned the same way.

Sylvia only made small to medium pots, most of them white ware. Most of her pots were decorated with Awatovi spirals and stars, lightning bolts, lizards and corn plants. She signed her works with a feather design very similar to her mother’s hallmark but she also added an “S.” Sylvia passed on in 1999.