Gary Yoyokie — Hopi Silversmith

Gary Yoyokie came to silver through the door of a workshop. Margaret Nickelson Wright's Hopi Silver, a register of Hopi smiths and their hallmarks, records that he "worked at Hopicraft, sweeping and doing other chores during the summers while he was still in high school. He picked up the rudiments of silversmithing there and continued to develop his skill, finally working full time with the silver" (Wright 2003, p. 60).

Wright counts him among the smiths who "have won top prizes on silver belts and other pieces at major craft shows with their traditional pieces" (Wright 2003, p. 59), and shows silver overlay belt buckles made in 1997 by Gary and Elsie Yoyokie (Wright 2003, p. 59). He taught as well: Ernest W. Honanie learned from him (Wright 2003, p. 109).

Bille Hougart's Native American and Southwestern Silver Hallmarks lists him as "Gary Yoyokie (1953-; Hopi)," active since the 1960s, working in "Overlay; inside decorations; set stones; silver, gold," and lists Elsie Yoyokie as Navajo (Hougart 2022, p. 351).

His hallmark

Hougart gives his marks as "Spider; G Y (chisel stamp); G Y E Y (chisel stamps)" (Hougart 2022, p. 351). Wright indexes the spider and the G Y E Y initials as joint marks of Gary and Elsie Yoyokie, and G Y as his own (Wright 2003, pp. 121, 124).