This piece is made by the Angea Family from the Tohono O’odham tribe in southern Arizona.  The Angeas take pride in pottery making as a family tradition. At this time, most potters sign “Angea” to their creations giving credit to the family name as a whole versus the individual potter.

Felistia Angea is the wife of Joe and Angea and the mother of Rupert Angea, Gladys Angea, and Juanita Angea.  The Angea family began making pottery when Joe Angea of South Hickiwan married Felistia from Kaka (Quail) Village.  Felistia learned pottery making from her mother, Constance.  When Felistia moved to South Hickiwan she continued her pottery making using the local white clay.

The shape and design of this bowl represent a social round dance called, “Nawoj Hah’ah”.  It represents a social dance in which Indian and non-Indians alike are invited to participate. It has come to symbolize the strength that comes from unity of purpose in a community. First made by Rupert Angea, in the late 1970s, they are now made by both the Angea Family and the Manuel Family of Hickiwan Village.  They are the only ones who make this type of O’odham pottery.  The clay is dug from a deposit near White Horse Pass.  The red paint is hematite and the black is from the sap of the mesquite tree, which is also a traditional food source (the seed pods, not the seeds) and provides the wood that is used to fire the pot after it has been painted.  The bowl is signed on the bottom, ‘Angea”.  It is in excellent condition with no chips, cracks, restoration, or repair.