Photograph by Henry Peabody, Nampeyo, world famous Hopi ceramist, with her work, circa 1900

Nampeyo Ceramic jar, circa 1880

Iris Nampeyo (1860?–1942) was a Hopi potter who lived on the Hopi Reservation in present-day Arizona.^[1] She received the English name Iris as an infant, but was better known by her Tewa name, Num-pa-yu, means "snake that does not bite". She was born at Hano Pueblo, which is primarily made up of descendants of the Tewa tribe who fled west to Hopi lands after the Pueblo Rebellion of 1680. Her mother, Ootca-ka-o was Tewa; her father Qots-vema, from nearby Walpi Pueblo, was Hopi. Hopi people make ceramics painted with beautiful designs, and Nampeyo was eventually considered one of the finest Hopi potters. Nampeyo learned pottery making through the efforts of her paternal grandmother. In the 1870's, she made a steady income by selling her work at a local trading post operated by Thomas Keam.^[2] She became increasingly interested in ancient pottery form and design, recognizing them as superior to Hopi pottery produced at the time. Her second husband, Lesou (or Lesso) was employed by the archaeologist J. Walter Fewkes at the excavation of the prehistoric ruin of Sikyátki in the 1890's. Lesou helped Nampeyo find shards showing the old forms and Fewkes produced detailed illustrations of reconstructed pots.

Nampeyo developed her own style based on the traditional designs. Her work was purchased for the Smithsonian Institution and by collectors worldwide. In 1904 and 1907, she produced and sold pottery at the Grand Canyon lodge owned by the Fred Harvey Company. She and her husband traveled to Chicago in 1898 and 1910 to display her work.

Nampeyo began to lose her sight in 1925, but continued to form and shape pots by touch. These later pots were painted by members of her family, including her four daughters, who also became well-known potters. She worked with clay until her death in 1942.

Nampeyo's photograph was often used as a symbol of the Hopi people and, by the end of her life, she was drawing huge numbers of tourists to her workshop. Her influence led to a renewal of the pottery making tradition among the Hopi and to the elevation of traditional pottery forms and decoration to an art form.