Bernard Dawahoya

Bernard Dawahoya (c.1935-2011), was a Hopi silversmith of the Snow Clan. He was also known for his Kachina figurines, textile pieces, leatherwork and painting. He learned silversmithing from his grandfather and his uncles Sidney Sekakuku and Washington Talayumptewa, from the age of 7. He began silversmithing in earnest during his teenage years. His hallmark stamp is in the form of a snow cloud, and has also used the Hopicrafts hallmark when he worked with the Sekaquaptewa brothers.

His style incorporates mixed metals – gold, silver, brass and copper – that are soldered together in layers to created designs. His jewelry incorporates lapidary work in turquoise, coral, malachite and coral in his jewelry. He favors turquoise from the Sleeping Beauty Mine, Kingman Mine, and Spider Mine. He also has made silver jars and vases using his distinct overlay technique, as well as vessels in the squat shape of Sikiyaki pottery

Dawahoya worked for a time at Wayne and Emory Sekaquaptewa's silversmithing shop, Hopi Enterprise in Phoenix and later in Kykotsmovi after the shop moved locations. In 1960, he opened his own shop on Second Mesa, called Dawa's Crafts Shop.

Collections Dawahoya's work is held in many private collections, as well as the permanent collection of Harvard University's Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, among other museums.