Sylvia Naha

Hopi/Tewa

Sylvia Naha (1951-1999) was the daughter of Helen Naha (1st Featherwoman) and granddaughter of Paqua Naha (1st Frogwoman). Rainy Naha was her sister and Burel Naha her brother.

Sylvia mostly created pottery slipped with Hopi’s white clay, polishing the formed pots, and painting them with bee-weed (black) and native colored slips. In the early 1950’s her mother had perfected a method of making white-slipped pottery using Hopi clays that wouldn’t crack in the firing. Helen taught all her kids and they carried it on. During the 1980’s Sylvia was one of the most innovative of Hopi potters with her whiteware. She tended to create classic forms and paint intricate designs. The walls of her vessels are thin, and the painting is exquisitely applied which makes them quite collectible.

Sylvia signed her pottery with the Featherwoman feather and her initial S.