Rachel Sahmie, a fifth generation Hopi potter, has been creating pottery since she was a little girl. On Oct. 29-31, Sahmie visited the University of Houston-Clear Lake to give students a workshop on how to create Hopi pottery using traditional Native American techniques that have been passed down from generation to generation.

“I’m really blessed to have a job that I love,” Sahmie said. “I’m thankful for being able to share what I do with others.” 

Sahmie lives approximately 300 miles from Santa Fe, Ariz. where the Hopi people have lived for at least 2,000 years. The oldest inhabited Hopi village in the United States is the Village of Arriving, a Hopi reservation.

The Hopi are peaceful people and did not make good warriors. In the late 1600s, they sent a delegation to the neighboring Tewa people, who were good warriors, and said “if you will send some people back out to Hopi to help protect us, we will give some land in return and you can live with us.”

Around 1700, a delegation of 100 Tewa people walked for 300 miles from the Rio Grande to the Hopi pueblos. The Hopi people had land waiting for the Tewa people, and on that land they settled as protectors of the Hopi. This is how the Tewa and the Hopi people came together.

Sahmie has a mixed Hopi background with a substantial Tewa background. The inheritance comes from the mother; it is a matriarchal society. 

There is a mesa in Arizona called “Black Mesa.”  There are formations that look like three fingers coming off of it that are called First Mesa, Second Mesa and Third Mesa. Back in that time period pottery was made at all three mesas, but for the last 150 years most pottery is made at the First Mesa. This is where Sahmie lives. 

 “There is a wealth of information that comes from the Native American pottery,” said Nick de Vries, professor of art. 

Sahmie has been molding pottery for more than 30 years. When she first started, she would take old images and designs and create the pots in a more modern way. Her mother did not approve of this technique, so Sahmie’s newer pots go back to the traditional style.

“Some of the newest potters are technically extraordinary; they are so perfect that it looks like a decal and you don’t get the energy,” said Craig Oettinger, associate professor of sociology. “Rachel’s pots aren’t perfect and so they have energy to them and they are attached to the older tradition. She is a master at doing that and it’s an honor to have her here.”  

Sahmie’s pottery is all natural. She uses grey and yellow clay; once the clay is fired it turns red. Sahmie’s husband, Claude Pahona, helps her gather the clay. 

“We go to Jeddito to dig it out and it is really a simple process to get the clay ready,” Sahmie said. “We don’t add anything to it; we just collect the clay and dry it out. When it’s dry, we soak it in a bucket and it melts down and then we put it through a strainer to take the roots and rocks out. The clay that we get I pour into a pillow case and tie it and lay it on the ground allowing the excess water to seep out. It takes about a day and I’ll check it until it gets to the consistency I can work with.”

Sahmie uses the coil method to make her pots and sets it in her “pookie” as she molds her pottery. A “pookie” is used to prepare the beginning form of the pot so it will not fall apart; it looks like a bowl. After the pot has dried completely, she uses sandstone to sand it down so it becomes smooth and then polishes it with a river stone. She applies her designs on the pot by freehand with a Yaka brush. 

The paint she uses is made from a bee plant, which she gathers in the spring with her husband. Sahmie and Pahona pick and boil it, then eat the plant. They usually gather a bunch and store it for the winter months. As she steams the plant, the broth from the plant reduces and it boils down to a consistency of elastic. She waits for it to get thick and then pours it onto corn husks and waits for it to dry. It dries very hard, but it is sticky. She mixes it with water on a rock palette and it turns into black paint.

“In our tradition, what we take we usually try to give back,” Sahmie said. “We were brought up that way. When I go to fire I stick little pots in there, so I can leave those where I gather my clay.”    

The process of firing for Sahmie takes place outdoors on the ground. She builds a fire with charcoal and sheep manure. The sheep manure comes in slabs and she has to chip it down to the size of a slice of bread. Crumbs fall off and she sprinkles them on top of the charcoal and then places all of her pottery over the fire, covering each piece with pottery shards. She places the large pieces of sheep manure into the fire and waits for it to turn to ashes. After it is done burning she waits about an hour for it to cool and then she gets to uncover it and polish the pots. The traditional way the Hopi potters polished their pots was by using fat from mutton. Sahmie found that Crisco does the same thing, so that is what she uses to give her pots shine.

“Members of my family have fired their pottery in the kiln,” Sahmie said. “Some of the really famous potters in my family are doing that now; I guess it gives them satisfaction, but I just prefer to keep it the traditional way.”

Sahmie’s mother passed away three weeks ago. She was very close to her mother and her death has not been easy on Sahmie, but she continues to stay positive and share her pottery with many people.

“This for my mother; she told me to continue and it will take you places,” Sahmie said. “She was a great teacher and without her I don’t think I could create like I do.”