Alex & Shane Beeshligaii – Navajo/Apache Jewelry

Alex Beeshligaii (Naabeehó Dineh/Apache) has worked as a traditional Naabeeho Dineh silversmith for more than 30 years, making jewelry using tufa and sand molds. He learned the artform from family and community members as well as from artists Sam Tabaha (Klagetoh/Naabeehó Dineh), Rick Manuel (Tohono O’odham), Alan Wallace (Washo Maidu), the late Preston Monongye (Hopi) and the late Sherwood Numkema (Hopi). He sings to the artwork that he makes, as he was taught by his late mother. He is a 2022 recipient of a Southwest Folklife Master-Apprentice Artist Award. He works with his son, Shane Blue Hawk Beeshligaii, to pass on the tradition and philosophy of the artform as well as Naabeehó Dineh language and history.