Dextra Quotskuyva Nampeyo

Dextra Quotskuyva Nampeyo (September 6, 1928 – February 2019) was a renowned Native American (Hopi-Tewa) potter and artist, recognized as one of the most innovative and influential figures in Hopi pottery.

She was born in Polacca, Arizona, on the Hopi Reservation. As a fifth-generation descendant (great-granddaughter) of the legendary Hopi-Tewa potter Nampeyo (c. 1859–1942) of Hano/Tewa Village, she continued a distinguished ancestral line of potters who revived and innovated the ancient Sikyátki style.

Her lineage includes Nampeyo → eldest daughter Annie Healing → daughter Rachel Namingha (1903–1985) → Dextra. She was the sister of potter Priscilla Namingha.
Her own children continued the tradition: daughter Hisi Quotskuyva Nampeyo (potter) and son Dan Namingha (painter and sculptor). Her husband, Edwin Quotskuyva, was a Hopi tribal leader and veteran.

Dextra began making pottery around 1967 in her late 30s. Initially, she followed her mother’s advice to adhere closely to traditional Nampeyo designs, such as migration patterns and bird motifs. After her mother’s death in 1985, she gained more creative freedom and developed highly personal, innovative styles while maintaining traditional Hopi-Tewa techniques.

She hand-coiled pots using native clays (gathering from various sources on the reservation for color variations in orange, tan, and brown), polished them with stones, painted with natural pigments (bee-weed for black, clay slips for red), and fired them in open bonfires. Her work often featured bold, creative interpretations of traditional motifs, including birds, dragonflies, clouds, eagles, lizards, and Sikyátki-inspired elements. She was noted for producing some of the most creative Hopi pottery over nearly four decades and mentored other potters, such as Steve Lucas, Loren Ami, Yvonne Lucas, and Les Namingha.