Thunderbird Symbol · Field Guide · Symbols & Iconography
The Thunderbird pendant as a distinct Southwest jewelry form emerged from Santo Domingo (Kewa) Pueblo in New Mexico during the Great Depression of the early 1930s. Artists working with found materials — celluloid from combs, bleached bone, and black rubber from car battery casings — created pendants whose shape and character became the namesake of an entire art form. The symbol is broadly associated with strength, protection, fertility, and abundance, though meaning varies significantly by pueblo.
In the early 1930s, the Great Depression created severe economic hardship across New Mexico's Pueblo communities. Santo Domingo (Kewa) artists responded with a practical and creative solution: jewelry assembled almost entirely from discarded industrial objects. Components were hand-cut, shaped, and ground with stone, then refined with leather. The pieces were bonded with piñon sap, and later with Duco Cement. The Indian Pueblo Cultural Center records that "what elite art circles initially dismissed as 'tourist junk' became an important economic enterprise for Santo Domingo families."
The Thunderbird pendant became the defining form of this tradition. Its character was personal: as the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center notes, "the character of each thunderbird shape reflects an individual artist's creative aesthetic and personality." No two are identical. Between the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the Thunderbird's body evolved from an easily apprehended bird form into hourglass shapes and, eventually, elongated X forms — shorthand recognizable within the culture. This stylistic compression is part of how the symbol travels across generations and across tribes.
The Coriz family of Kewa Pueblo represents one of the most celebrated lineages in Thunderbird and Depression-era jewelry. Leo Coriz — a foundational figure in Kewa silversmithing — established a lineage continued by his daughter Mary Coriz Lovato and her son Isaac Coriz, who added his own signature variant to the family visual vocabulary.
Collector's note on meaning: The Thunderbird carries different significance for different Pueblo nations. Acoma Pueblo associates distinct ceremonial meaning with the Thunderbird — that meaning is not discussed here, and we would not attempt to characterize it. Collectors should understand that "Thunderbird" is not a single unified symbol with one fixed meaning.
Leo Coriz (Kewa Pueblo) — foundational figure in Santo Domingo silversmithing and the Thunderbird tradition. Browse our full Southwest Silversmiths Directory for additional artists.