Atsidi Sani (Old Smith in English), was the first known Navajo silversmith. While some native american tribes have worked with turquoise for millennia, sterling silver and turquoise jewelry is a relatively recent trade. The Indians of the Southwest did not learn to work with silver until the latter part of the 19th century.

Metalworking had a different history among the Zuni than that of the Navajo and Hopi. In about 1830, the Zuni learned to work with copper and brass salvaged from old kettles. They did not begin silver crafting until four decades later.

Hopi silverwork is of a more recent vintage than Navajo or Zuni. Early Hopi jewelry was made from natural materials, turquoise, shell, wood, and seeds. Silver working was introduced to the Hopi around 1890 when the Zuni smith Lanyard began to trade some of his silver jewelry among the Hopi, apparently in return for hand-woven native cotton textiles.