The village of Hano on Arizona's First Mesa was established around 1700 by Tewa refugees fleeing from Spanish oppression in New Mexico. Even though they learned many of the Hopi ways and intermarried into that Nation, the Tewa maintained their own speech and ceremonial practices. They became known as the Hopi-Tewa. In 1860, Nampeyo of Hano was born to a Tewa mother and a Hopi father, and thus began a life that would gain fame and honor as a master potter of her people.

Nampeyo became fascinated as a young child by the pottery made by her grandmother to serve the family's needs. As she grew, she began to make her own, and to experiment with different looks and styles. At the age of 20, she married only to be left...