Timothy Bedah (October 4, 1945 – June 18, 2017) was a

Navajo The Navajo (; British English: Navaho; nv, Diné or ') are a Native American people of the Southwestern United States. With more than 399,494 enrolled tribal members , the Navajo Nation is the largest federally recognized tribe in the United ...

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...

and

goldsmith A goldsmith is a Metalworking, metalworker who specializes in working with gold and other precious metals. Nowadays they mainly specialize in jewelry-making but historically, goldsmiths have also made cutlery, silverware, platter (dishware), pl ...

born in

Tohatchi, New Mexico Tohatchi ( nv, ) is a census-designated place (CDP) in McKinley County, New Mexico, in the Southwestern United States. It is known as a health services and education hub along Highway 491. The population was reported to be 785 at the 2020 census. ...

. He exhibited his work across the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. Bedah is known for his silver and gold jewelry, including rings, bracelets, and buckles, for which he won a number of awards. Bedah was born to Edward Bedah (

Plains Indian Plains Indians or Indigenous peoples of the Great Plains and Canadian Prairies are the Native American tribes and First Nation band governments who have historically lived on the Interior Plains (the Great Plains and Canadian Prairies) of N ...

, Kiiyanii clan) and Thelma Begay (Navajo, Todacheenie clan). He was a promising art student as a child, excelling in painting and music. After graduating from

Gallup High School Gallup High School (GHS) is a public high school in Gallup, New Mexico. Gallup High School is the largest high school in the Gallup-McKinley County School District. The school's campus is relatively new as GHS moved to its current location in 1998 ...

in 1965, he was a

guitarist A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselv ...

and

drummer A drummer is a percussionist who creates music using drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one mem ...

in a

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

band. He worked for a time at Carson's Trading Post in

Gallup, New Mexico Zuni: ''Kalabwaki'' , settlement_type = City , nickname = "Indian Capital of the World" , motto = , image_skyline = Gallup, New Mexico.jpg , imagesize = 250px , image_caption ...

, where he learned how to

silversmith A silversmith is a metalworker who crafts objects from silver. The terms ''silversmith'' and ''goldsmith'' are not exactly synonyms as the techniques, training, history, and guilds are or were largely the same but the end product may vary great ...

. In the mid-1970s he began working with

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

. Bedah died in 2017 in

Albuquerque, New Mexico Albuquerque ( ; ), ; kee, Arawageeki; tow, Vakêêke; zun, Alo:ke:k'ya; apj, Gołgéeki'yé. abbreviated ABQ, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Its nicknames, The Duke City and Burque, both reference its founding in ...

. He is buried in the Tohatchi Cemetery.

References

20th-century American painters 20th-century indigenous painters of the Americas Native American painters Navajo artists Painters from New Mexico 1945 births 2017 deaths 20th-century Native American artists 21st-century Native American artists Native American jewelers 20th-century American jewellers American goldsmiths American silversmiths {{NorthAm-native-bio-stub