Nora Naranjo Morse is a Kha P’o Tewa Indian from Northern New Mexico. Nora comes from a large family of potters, stone carvers, educatorsm and dancers. She is a sculptor, writer, and producer of video films that look at social changes within Pueblo culture. An artist best known for her work with installation exhibits and large-scale public art, Naranjo Morse often returns to clay to create. Beyond Santa Fe, her work can be seen at the Heard Museum in Phoenix, the Minneapolis Institute of Art, and the National Museum of the American Indian, Washington, D.C. Nora is the author of the poetry collectionMud Woman: Poems from the Clay, and a children’s book entitled, Kaa Povi’s First Clay Gathering. In 2007 Naranjo Morse was the recipient of an Honorary Doctorate degree from Skidmore College.
In 2017 Naranjo Morse was awarded the Spirit Aligned Leadership Program fellowship from the NoVo and Rockefeller foundations.
Nora lives on Kha P’o tribal land in an adobe home she helped build 30 years ago.
Using clay, discarded, materials, and light, Naranjo Morse has been creating installations that look at cultural and environmental concerns in our Indigenous communities. Nora’s most recent project entitled, “Remembering” uses highway billboards to message indigenous values using words and images. Each billboard is site specific and located near tribal lands where culture and environment are at risk.