Native American Arts and Crafts --> Southwestern Indian Art

Native American Languages                  Native American Tribes                  What's new on our site today!

Southwest Native American Art

Southwest Indian art is probably the most distinctive and certainly the best-known of Native American artistic traditions, both because the southwestern tribes were highly settled peoples for whom things like twelve-foot high looms were practical, and because most southwestern tribes have remained in or at least near their ancestral lands, suffering less interruption of their tribal traditions than the eastern tribes. Southwest Indian designs are instantly recognizable and have saturated the American mainstream, their characteristic geometric patterns visible everywhere from cowboy hats to Arizona's state flag; sanitized Kokopelli silhouettes festoon lawns in New Mexico the way gnomes in pointy hats do in Pennsylvania. (Kokopelli was originally a major fertility god, and authentically Indian depictions of him are often more anatomical in nature than the kind you find in Home Depot.) But Southwestern Indian art forms have not only influenced the popular culture of the region at large, they also remain as thriving, unbroken artistic traditions of the native people who first created them. Arts and crafts Southwest Indian artists are best known for include the kachina dolls of the Hopi and sandpaintings of the Navajo; beautiful pottery, particularly by Pueblo Indian artists; woven blankets and rugs, particularly by the Navajos; and many different styles of fine basketry and jewelry, particularly in silver and turquoise. You can learn more about the history of each of these native Southwestern art forms at the links above.

Because Southwest Indian art in particular has become so popular, there are many forgeries and knockoffs out there--mass-produced carpets printed with Navajo-like designs, fake "kachinas" from Asian sweatshops, and so on. If you're looking for arts and crafts that were actually made by Native Americans of the Southwest, either because it's important to you to have the real thing or because you want to support native people with your purchase, then here is our list of American Indian artists whose work is available online. If you have a website of Southwestern Native American art to add to this list, let us know. We gladly advertise any individual native artist or native-owned art store here free of charge, provided that all arts and crafts are made by tribally recognized American Indian, Inuit, or First Nations artists.

Thank you for your interest in American Indian art!

˜ Southwest Indian Arts and Craft Stores

– Southwest Indian Art Galleries

Navajo Works Sand paintings, pottery, jewelry and gifts from a Navajo-owned craft store.

– Southwest Indian Jewelry

Zachanee Jewelry (Me'Dru Galleria) Navajo, Hopi, and Pueblo-made jewelry in a variety of traditional and modern Southwest Indian styles.

Wings Silverwork A gorgeous selection of silver jewelry by a Taos Pueblo artist. He makes custom pieces to order, too, so if you want something truly one-of-a-kind, send them a query email.

Native Beauty Native American-owned store specializing in Native Southwestern jewelry by Navajo and Zuni artists.

Tribe Azure Jewelry Contemporary Southwestern designs by a young Navajo artist using traditional silver and stone inlay techniques.

Yazzie's Indian Art Classic and contemporary Southwest jewelry designs by an award-winning Navajo silversmith.

Pueblo Jewelry Southwestern jewelry handmade by a Laguna Pueblo artist.

– Navajo Rugs

D.Y. Begay's Navajo Weaving Studio Southwestern rugs by the award-winning weaver and other Navajo artists.

Navajo Rugs by Marilou Schultz Southwest rugs and blankets by commission (email the artist if you're interested in her weaving).

Anita's Navajo Rugs Contemporary Southwest Indian rugs by Navajo weaver Anita Hathale.

– Southwest Indian Pottery

San Ildefonso Pottery Pueblo-owned gallery of Southwest Indian pottery by award-winning San Ildefonso and Santa Clara artists.

Singing Water Gallery Pueblo art gallery of Southwestern pottery and figurines.

– Offline Southwest Indian Gift Shops

Bear Canyon Galleries Navajo-owned store carrying Southwest Indian jewelry, sculpture, and fine crafts.

Hopi Market Southwestern baskets, pottery, jewelry and kachinas from a Hopi-owned art store.

The Trading Post Offering Southwestern Indian jewelry, pottery, rugs, and other arts and crafts for sale.

˜ Books About Southwest Indian Art

I Am Here: Two Thousand Years of Southwest Indian Arts and Culture	Jewelry by Southwest American Indians: Evolving Designs	Southwestern Pottery: Anasazi to Zuni	Southwestern Indian Baskets
Beautiful book of photographs and history of Southwestern Native American artistic traditions.	Photographic overview of Southwest Indian jewelry from ancient to modern times.	Attractive beginner's overview of Southwest Indian pottery, with photographs and advice for collectors.	Photographs and in-depth exploration of Southwestern coil basketry

Traditional Hopi Kachinas	The Fetish Carvers of Zuni	Talking With the Clay	One Hundred Years of Navajo Rugs
Photographic introduction to kachina dolls and the artists who make them.	Overview of Zuni fetish carvings, their forms and meaning.	Photographs, history, and interviews on the art of Pueblo Indian pottery.	Photographs and art history of Southwestern weaving traditions.

˜ Links About Southwest Indian Art

What constitutes Indian art fraud, and how to report it if you find it.
Museum of Indian Arts and Culture: This New Mexico museum offers online exhibits on Southwest Indian art and culture.
Southwestern Native American Pottery: A beautiful collection of Southwest pottery photographs.
Wedding Vases: Description of the Southwest Indian wedding vase tradition.
Hopi Basketry Presentation: Two photo-essays on Southwestern basketweaving.
Hopi Basketry: History, techniques, and photo galleries of Hopi Indian baskets from the Second and Third Mesa.
Native American Cultures: View our pages for individual Indian tribes, most of which have artistic information.

About us: This website belongs to Native Languages of the Americas, an indigenous language non-profit organization dedicated to preserving and promoting endangered Native American languages. We are not artists ourselves, so if you are interested in buying some of the artwork featured on this page, please contact the artists directly. Though we have featured only Southwest American arts and crafts identified with the name and tribal affiliation of each artist, we haven't called the tribal offices to check up on any of them, and we only know a few of them personally. We also don't guarantee any of their products. This is not an exhaustive list of Southwestern art--if you would like us to add your art site to this page, please contact us with your URL and tribal affiliation. We advertise any individual native artist or native-owned art business here free of charge. We do not link to art which is not made by tribally recognized Southwest American Indian artists, so please do not ask us to. And finally, websites do occasionally expire and change hands, so use your common sense and this general rule of thumb: if the creator of each individual artwork is not identified by name and specific tribe, you are probably not looking at authentic Southwest Indian art.

Back to the American Indian websites for kids
Language of the day: Powhatan



American Indian Heritage Native American Indian Words Tribal Tattoos

Would you like to help support our organization's work with endangered American Indian languages?

or buy some books through this link:

Native Languages of the Americas website © 1998-2011 Contacts and FAQ page