Jesse Monongye, Navajo - Hopi Pueblo Jeweler

Diné of the Navajo Nation artist Jesse Monongye, sometimes published as Jesse Monongya, is a contemporary jeweler of the Navajo Nation. He was born in 1952 on the Navajo Reservation. He is the son of famous Hopi jewelry artist Preston Monongye and Ida Mae Lee. He apprenticed with his dad for four years before setting out on his own as a jeweler. He served in the United States Marine Corps and was Commissioner of the Indian Arts and Crafts Board. His awards for his jewelry are too numerous to post here but they are certainly impressive. His work was honored at exhibits at the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture in Santa Fe, the American Museum of Natural History in New York, and Heard Museum in Phoenix. His list of collectors-museums and individuals-is impressive.

Relative Links: Diné of the Navajo Nation, Hopi Pueblo, Hopituh Shi-nu-mu, Southwest Indian Jewelry, Preston Monongye