Snakes in Southwest Jewelry: Field Guide to a Contested Motif
The snake appears in Southwestern jewelry across multiple traditions — Hopi clan designs in overlay silver, Navajo stampwork and cast forms, and Zuni snake-eye cluster work — but its meaning and reception varied sharply between makers and buyers. Bedinger's primary account documents both Navajo smiths who refused to make snake forms and those who did, capturing the genuine complexity of a motif that does not resolve into a single cultural statement.
From the Library: Bedinger, Indian Silver (1973)
1973 primary source. Anything described as current here describes 1973, not today.
According to Bedinger (1973, p. 98), the Franciscan Fathers' dictionary recorded a Navajo phrase for a bracelet made in the form of a snake. Such bracelets were narrow, flexible strips of silver flattened into an elongated triangle at the head and tapering to a rounded tail, with eyes, mouth, scales and rattles suggested by stamping; the eyes were sometimes tiny turquoises, and some strips wound around the forearm. [1]
Bedinger (1973) put the form in context:
“Life forms in early Navajo silver are rare, although we do find leaf designs, and the double curve, when not called a corn leaf, may be termed a feather.”
— Bedinger (1973), p. 98 [1]
Bedinger (1973) also cites Wick Miller's testimony that Navajos
“will not willingly reproduce a snake”
— Bedinger (1973), p. 99 [1]
From the Library: Frank, Indian Silver Jewelry of the Southwest (1990)
1990 primary source. Anything described as current here describes 1990, not today.
In an outside observer's record (the nations are the authority on their own beliefs), Frank (1990, p. 55, Fig. 52) described a Smithsonian silver comb with elaborate stamp work and cutouts, shaped like a Spanish mantilla comb, that carried figures of the sacred avanyu, which he glossed as sky and water snakes; its history was not available. [2]
Frank (1990, Fig. 125, p. 106), describing a stamped silver bracelet of about 1900 with an elongated repoussé snake on each side, which he called unique, noted:
“The snake replaces the more traditional floral pattern.”
— Frank (1990), p. 106 [2]
Frank (1990, p. 129) illustrated a stamped silver coiled snake shaped to match an oval green turquoise and set between six silver studs (Fig. 155), which he called highly unusual and dated around 1930. [2]
According to Frank (1990, p. 201, Fig. 253), the latest ring in one group, a coiled green snake with eyes, was most probably made in the 1930s by Leekya, whom he called a prominent Zuni silversmith. [2]
From the Library: Wright, Hopi Silver (2003)
2003 primary source. Anything described as current here describes 2003, not today.
According to Wright (2003, p. 119), the Frogs & Reptiles section of the Index of Hallmarks by Type lists snake marks for several Hopi smiths, among them Morris Robinson (Snake & H), Lewis Lomay (Snake & L.L.), Richard Kagenvema (Rattlesnake Head), Walter Polelonema and Raymie Namingha (Rattlesnake Rattle), and Raymond Lomaheitewa (Snake). [3]
From the Library: Welch, Indian Jewelry (1973)
1973 primary source. Anything described as current here describes 1973, not today.
These are an outside writer's 1973 records of beliefs; the Native nations are the authority on their own beliefs.
Welch (1973) recorded the Navajo regard for the snake as she understood it:
“The snake is sacred to the Navajo, though among some other tribes it is considered a demon. The Navajo thinks the rhythm of the snake is beautiful like the rhythm of life.”
— Welch (1973), p. 43 [4]
From the Library: Adair, The Navajo and Pueblo Silversmiths (1944)
1944 primary source. Anything described as current here describes 1944, not today.
Writing of the late 1930s, Adair (1944) recorded:
“For over twenty-five years the traders have encouraged the Navajo smiths to make thin, light bracelets in the form of snakes, with turquoise sets for eyes.”
— Adair (1944), p. 104 [5]
In an outside observer's record (the nations are the authority on their own customs and beliefs), Adair (1944, p. 104) wrote that because of the Navajo fear of snakes, an animal prominent in Navajo religion and then believed to cause illness, many smiths would not make bracelets of this type. [5]
From the Library: Baxter, Encyclopedia of Native American Jewelry (2000)
2000 primary source. Anything described as current here describes 2000, not today.
Baxter (2000) described the early Navajo position:
“In the first decades of nineteenth-century silversmithing, Navajo metalworkers followed their people’s traditional abhorrence of snakes, and the creatures did not appear in jewelry design.”
— Baxter (2000), p. 163 [6]
According to Baxter (2000, p. 163), non-Indian demand, bolstered by the Victorian taste for snake imagery on bracelets and rings, overcame many artists' objections over time. [6]
She added that other nations differed (Baxter, 2000):
“However, other Southwestern native peoples did not hold the snake in antipathy for adornment; in the early twentieth century, for example, the Zunis developed a popular snake motif that framed finger rings (done by such artists as Leekya Deyuse and Dan Simplicio).”
— Baxter (2000), p. 163 [6]
On the meanings printed for tourists, Baxter (2000) was blunt:
“The dubious, tourist-era connotation for a snake symbol was of defiance and wisdom.”
— Baxter (2000), p. 163 [6]
From the Library: June, Fred Harvey Jewelry 1900–1955 (2013)
2013 primary source. Anything described as current here describes 2013, not today.
These are an outside writer's records; the Hopi and Zuni nations are the authority on their own beliefs and ceremonies.
June (2013) tied the Harvey-era snake stamps to a tourist attraction:
“The wriggled and curled symbols that appeared on Fred Harvey jewelry were inspired by the Hopi Snake Dance.”
— June (2013), p. 89 [7]
According to June (2013, p. 88), once the Santa Fe rails reached northern Arizona in the 1880s, hundreds of rail travelers left the train at Holbrook for an arduous journey to watch the Hopi ceremony, the Harvey tours later promoted it endlessly, and President Theodore Roosevelt attended a snake dance at Walpi in 1913. [7]
On the dating, June (2013) added:
“Research shows the snake symbol was trendy on Fred Harvey jewelry long before Roosevelt's well-documented visit.”
— June (2013), p. 89 [7]
June (2013) noted a stamp collectors meet often:
“Lightning Snakes found their way into many Fred Harvey stamp schemes.”
— June (2013), p. 86 [7]
Writing in 2013, June recorded a Zuni serpent:
“The Zuni utilize a serpent symbol called Kolowisi, a feathered serpent, the guardian of water sources.”
— June (2013), p. 91 [7]
From the Library: Tanner, Navajo Silver Craft (1954)
1954 primary source. Anything described as current here describes 1954, not today.
Writing in 1954, Tanner described what happened to Navajo bracelet stamping once white buyers' demands were felt:
“an individual Navajo bracelet might be decorated with a swastika, a snake, a pair of crossed arrows, and several simple geometric themes thrown in for good measure.”
— Tanner (1954), p. 29 [8]
Tanner (1954, p. 29) added that this heavily stamped bracelet was widely copied, and even elaborated on, by commercial manufacturers of Indian-style jewelry. [8]
Field Notes by Mateo James
Bedinger's record is specific and worth quoting at length, because it preserves contradictory testimonies rather than smoothing them into a single interpretation. Lummis wrote (c.1893, cited in Bedinger): "So extreme are their prejudices that one of their skilled silversmiths was beaten nearly to death by his fellows for making to my order a silver bracelet which represented a rattlesnake; and the obnoxious emblem was promptly destroyed by the raiders — along with the offender's hut."
That account stands alongside a contradictory one from G.W. James (1904, cited in Bedinger): "I have ridden all over the Navaho reservation wearing both a rattlesnake ring and bracelet, and have had several made for me, on different parts of the reservation by different peshlikais.. The snake watches and guards for us our springs and water-courses. Water is the most precious thing we possess in the desert. I make for you this ring in the form of a snake, that the power that guards our most precious thing may always guard you."
Bedinger also notes that "Adair found that although whites like snake bracelets and traders urge smiths to produce them, many Navajos refuse to do so." This was not a historical view that had resolved — different smiths held different positions on making snake forms, and the trade pressure from non-Native buyers was a real factor.
In Hopi silversmithing, the snake appears as a clan design in overlay. Wright documents "Snake and Lizard" as a recognized Hopi clan grouping (Wright 2003, p. 71), and Hougart documents at least one artist's mark as "H (H for Hopi, plus a snake clan symbol) — there are at least two different snake stamps; the oldest has nine vertical bars and a four-rattle tail."
Zuni "snake-eye" turquoise cluster work is a documented style category — named for the small, round-cut turquoise stones rather than snake imagery, but recorded in Bedinger and Hougart's Zuni silversmith entries.
Collector's Handbook
What to look for: Snake forms in Southwest silver appear as cast bracelets, stamp-work rings, appliqué, Hopi clan designs in overlay, and Zuni snake-eye cluster work. Each tradition carries different context.
Recognition tells: Hopi clan snake marks are documented with specific form details (nine vertical bars, four-rattle tail for one documented artist). Navajo cast and stamped snake pieces vary by era and smith. Zuni "snake-eye" refers to stone shape, not snake imagery.
Cultural note: Primary sources document genuine disagreement among Navajo smiths about producing snake forms, with some refusing and others incorporating the motif. A snake-form piece should not be assumed to carry either sacred significance or its absence — the record supports both positions depending on the maker.
A note on accuracy. We strive for accuracy, and this page is continuously updated with new information from the artists, their families, and the community. Corrections welcome.
References
- Bedinger, Margery. Indian Silver: Navajo and Pueblo Jewelers (1973).
- Hougart, Bille. Native American and Southwestern Silver Hallmarks, 5th ed. (2022).
- Bedinger, Margery. Indian Silver: Navajo and Pueblo Jewelers. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1973. Cited by printed page. Statements describe conditions as of 1973.
- Frank, Larry, with the assistance of Millard J. Holbrook II. Indian Silver Jewelry of the Southwest, 1868-1930. Atglen, PA: Schiffer Publishing, 1990. First published 1978 by New York Graphic Society. Cited by printed page. Statements describe conditions as of 1990.
- Wright, Margaret Nickelson. Hopi Silver: The History and Hallmarks of Hopi Silversmithing. Revised edition. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 2003. Originally published by Northland Publishing. Cited by printed page. Statements describe conditions as of 2003.
- Welch, Frankie. Indian Jewelry: How To Wear, Buy and Treasure America's First Fashion Pieces. McLean, VA: EPM Publications, Inc., 1973. Cited by printed page. Statements describe conditions as of 1973.
- Adair, John. The Navajo and Pueblo Silversmiths. The Civilization of the American Indian Series. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1944. Cited by printed page. Statements describe conditions as of 1944.
- Baxter, Paula A., with Allison Bird-Romero. Encyclopedia of Native American Jewelry: A Guide to History, People, and Terms. Phoenix: Oryx Press, 2000. Cited by printed page. Statements describe conditions as of 2000.
- June, Dennis. Fred Harvey Jewelry 1900–1955. Atglen, PA: Schiffer Publishing, 2013. Cited by printed page. Statements describe conditions as of 2013.
- Tanner, Clara Lee. “Navajo Silver Craft.” Arizona Highways 30, no. 8 (August 1954): 16–33. Cited by printed page. Statements describe conditions as of 1954.
From the T.Skies Journal