Faith Anderson

Faith Anderson is the daughter of Victoria Haley and is a 6th generation bead maker.  She’s 15 years old and is in 9th grade (2020). She lives with her family in New Mexico and enjoys playing basketball after school.  Faith first started helping her mom make jewelry when she was 9 years old.  She enjoys making jewelry and wants to keep the bead making tradition alive.  

Faith comes from a long line of famous bead makers.  Her great-great grandmother, Annie Bahe Begay, was a Navajo weaver and taught her granddaughter Ruby (who is Faith’s grandmother) the art of bead making when she was only six years old. Ruby is the only grandchild who kept her grandparents’ bead making tradition going.  Her children, Victoria (Faith’s mom), Veltenia, and Ben, are now very accomplished bead makers. 

The Haley family use very traditional methods for crafting their silver bead necklaces. After dapping them (making them curved), they grind the silver beads on a rock and string them on a binder wire. After stringing the beads, they use Borax to clean them and then sand all the edges. Once the necklace is completed, they use a polishing wheel to give each silver necklace its bright appearance. 

After making their jewelry, the Haley family burns sage and prays over each piece.  They pray that whoever wears their jewelry will be blessed, have good health, and happiness.