Navajo Silversmith Bae-ie-schluch-aichin
This Navajo silversmith was photographed by Ben Wittick in the 1890s. His name was Bae-ie-schluch-aichin, which roughly translates to “slender maker of silver.” The Navajo used to buy batches of silver while trading with Spanish colonists and didn’t become silversmiths until the 19th century. At that time, Atsidi Sani, a Navajo silversmith in 1875 showed them the art of metalworking and crafting objects out of silver.