Celina Yazzie — Diné (Navajo) silversmith. Hallmark photo on file at T.Skies. Full biography research in progress — see disambiguation note below.

A name that requires care before attribution

The name "Celina Yazzie" is one of several similarly-spelled Diné silversmith names that have been confused in attribution across the open web. Before we publish a full biography under this entry, we want to be clear about what we are not yet certain of.

Possible confusion points the directory is actively guarding against:

1. "Colina Yazzie" — a separate Diné silversmith documented adjacent to the Yazzie family of Gallup (the family of master silversmiths Lee Yazzie, Raymond Yazzie, and Mary Marie Bia, profiled in Lois Sherr Dubin's Glittering World: Navajo Jewelry of the Yazzie Family, 2014). Colina Yazzie has been described in some published references as Raymond Yazzie's wife. Whether "Celina" and "Colina" refer to the same person or to two distinct Diné silversmiths is not yet confirmed.

2. "C. Yazzie" hallmark stamps — multiple Diné silversmiths share initials beginning with "C. Yazzie." In particular, a "C. Yazzie" stamp has been documented as the work of Charlene Yazzie in scholarly hallmark references. Without seeing the specific stamp on a piece, a "C. Yazzie" hallmark cannot be auto-attributed to Celina without risking misattribution to Charlene.

3. The hallmark on file at T.Skies — we have a hallmark photograph for "Celina Yazzie" in our Y Hallmarks reference. What we do not yet have is independent gallery, museum, or scholarly confirmation that ties our specific hallmark photograph to a named, biographically-documented silversmith. Until we close that loop, we treat the attribution as preliminary.

What this stub means

The T.Skies Silversmith Directory's policy is to publish a stub page — rather than a full biography — when:

• We have a hallmark photograph and confirmed Diné/Native affiliation, but
• The biographical record is too thin or too overlapping with other artists to write a full bio without risking misattribution, and
• Independent scholarly or family confirmation has not yet been obtained.

Celina Yazzie meets all three of those criteria. We are publishing this stub openly so that the page exists in the directory record, the hallmark is searchable for collectors with pieces in hand, and we can invite the corrections and confirmations we need.

What we are looking for

If you can help close any of the open loops below, please reach out:

1. Are "Celina Yazzie" and "Colina Yazzie" the same person, or two distinct silversmiths? 2. Is the silversmith of our Y-hallmark photograph the same person as Raymond Yazzie's wife (sometimes published as Colina), or a different Celina Yazzie altogether? 3. What is Celina's tribal community, hometown, and clan? 4. What is her birth year and active period? 5. Are her hallmark variants documented elsewhere? (We can compare against our photograph to confirm or distinguish.) 6. What is her relationship, if any, to Charlene Yazzie, who is also documented as a "C. Yazzie" hallmark holder?

Hallmark on file

T.Skies maintains a thumbnail of the Celina Yazzie hallmark on our Y Hallmarks page. If you own a piece with a similar-looking stamp and would be willing to share a high-resolution photograph (with stone setting, silver weight, and any provenance notes), please contact us. High-resolution stamp comparison is the cleanest path to closing the disambiguation question.

Related at T.Skies

• Raymond Yazzie — Diné silversmith (directory page in development) — Lee Yazzie's brother and master lapidary; possibly relevant for the Colina/Celina disambiguation
• Lee Yazzie — Diné silversmith — Raymond's brother; profiled in Dubin's Glittering World
• Charlene Yazzie — Diné silversmith (directory page in development) — separately documented "C. Yazzie" hallmark holder
• The T.Skies Artist Co-Op — our 501(c)(3) preserving handmade Native American and Southwestern jewelry traditions

Sources

• T.Skies own Y Hallmarks reference (tskies.com/blogs/news/native-american-y-hallmarks) — hallmark photograph and Diné (Navajo) attribution on file
• Plata de Santa Fe Jewelry artist roster (platadesantafejewelry.com) — bare confirmation of Diné affiliation in retailer copy
• Lois Sherr Dubin, Glittering World: Navajo Jewelry of the Yazzie Family (2014) — for the Yazzie family lineage context that frames the Colina/Celina disambiguation question

About the author

Mateo James is the founder of T.Skies and editor of the T.Skies Silversmith Directory — of Spanish and Indigenous descent, with Yaqui and Spanish lineage on his grandmother's side. Trained in traditional Southwestern silversmithing technique through long apprenticeship with Indigenous and Spanish-heritage masters, he writes the directory as an ongoing scholarly contribution to documenting the makers, lineages, and stories of Native American and Southwestern jewelry. More about Mateo James →

A note on accuracy — and an invitation

We do our best to make every Silversmith Directory page accurate, respectful, and reflective of the artist and their family. This page is a stub by design — we are explicitly disclosing the disambiguation work that needs to happen before we publish a full biography under this name. If you are Celina (or Colina), a family member, or carry her work and can help confirm the open questions above, we would be honored to hear from you.

Suggest a correction or addition →

This page is a living document. We update it whenever new authoritative sources come to light or whenever family or community members reach out. The version date below reflects the most recent revision.

This stub was prepared by Mateo James for T.Skies as part of our Silversmith Directory project — an ongoing effort to give named, lineage-honoring biographies to the Native American and Southwestern silversmiths whose work passes through our gallery. We do not claim to speak for the Diné or for any artist. All cultural-attribution claims are made to be IACA-clean. Last updated 2026-04-29.