Sandra Suhu
Hopi (Third Mesa) b. 1971 - present
Hopi Kachina carver Sandra Suhu has been carving Kachinas since 1995. She is a member of the Rabbit/Tobacco Clan and is one of the only female Hopi kachina carvers. Her greatest influence was her grandfather who recognized her talent and offered her encouragement. This continued encouragement of Sandra’s grandfather was a major deviation for a Hopi woman and for a man of his traditional background.
Sandra is an only child and a mother of twin girls (Auri and Lakayah Roy). Born in Gallup, New Mexico and having grown up in Hotevilla, Arizona (Third Mesa) Sandra now makes her home in Phoenix and supports her family as a computer electronics assembler but her true vocation is as a kachina carver.
Sandra graduated from Hopi Jr/Sr. High School, Trade School at Pine Medical Institute and the Hopi
& High Tech Institute.
Her kachinas are highly collectible and she has a piece in the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art at the University of Oklahoma (James T. Bialec Native American Art Collection).
She has participated in:
…The “Kachina Doll Market Place and Gathering of Carvers” at the Heard Museum
…Tuba City Unified School District: “Cultural symposium focuses on teachings from female perspective”
…Cabot’s Pueblo Museum First Hopi Kachina Weekend, Desert Hot Springs, California
…Plus numerous Hope tribal symposiums, and causes.
