Our Story

Yá’át’ééh shik’éí dóó shidine’é! Shí éí Kotah yinishyé. Tábąąhá nishłį́. Bilagáana báshíshchíín. Lók’aa’Dine’é dashicheii. Bilagáana dashinalí. Ákót’éego diné nishłį́. Hello my friends and my people! My name is Kotah. I am of the Water's Edge Clan, born for the white people's clan. The Reed people are my maternal grandfather's clan and the white people's clan is my paternal grandfather's clan. In this way, I am a Navajo man.

Yá’át’ééh, shí éí Tessie yinishyé! Tábąąhá nishłį́. Bilagáana báshíshchíín. Lók’aa’Dine’é dashicheii. Bilagáana dashinalí. Ákót’éego diné asdzáán nishłį́. Hello, my name is Tessie! I am of the Water's Edge Clan, born for the white people's clan. The Reed people are my maternal grandfather's clan and the white people's clan is my paternal grandfather's clan. In this way, I am a Navajo woman.

We are brother and sister team who run Kotah Bear and are both enrolled members of the Diné (Navajo) tribe. Growing up, we traveled the world with our three other siblings performing as the traditional Native American dance group "Star Flint."

We still love to travel. When making trips from where we live in the state of Utah, USA to the Navajo Nation (New Mexico & Arizona specifically) to visit family, we would have many requests to bring jewelry back. We quickly realized that supporting Native American artisans, being surrounded by beautiful items, and meeting new friends are things we are both very passionate about! We decided Kotah's childhood nickname "Kotah Bear" would be a perfect name for this company founded in 2013.

We feel so appreciative that we can share gorgeous handcrafted items from our culture and help support the livelihood of living Native American artisans. Each piece originates from a rich, ancient heritage and can be treasured for generations to come. We hope you'll love browsing through our finds as much as we do!