New Mexico

Indian Pottery (1940s)

Footage of renowned American Indian potter Maria Martinez creating blackware Pueblo pottery with her husband Julian Martinez. To license footage from this film for commercial use visit: www.travelfilmarchive.com.

"Footage of renowned Native American potter Maria Martinez creating blackware Pueblo pottery with
her husband Julian Martinez.

06:00:00:00
San Ildefonso Pueblo, New Mexico
VS Caucasian woman & man (tourists) exiting Native American store.
Sign for “San Ildefonso Native American Pueblo.”

06:01:00:02
San Ildefonso Pueblo, New Mexico
VS Native American middle-aged couple (Maria and Julian Martinez)
seated outside making pottery.
CU Native American woman shaping & molding clay flat.
HA CU pressing clay into bowl mold.
VS Native American woman shaping & molding clay into long piece
& pressing around rim of bowl.
Headshot Native American woman smiling as she works.
CU hands smoothing out clay along rim of bowl.
CU smoothing out inside of bowl.
CU traditional Native American necklaces worn around woman’s neck.
(pottery making, ceramics, handicrafts)

06:03:41:20
San Ildefonso Pueblo, New Mexico
VS Native American middle-aged couple (Maria and Julian Martinez)
seated outside making pottery.
CU hands scraping side of clay pot to make it smooth.
VS Native American man painting designs on vase.
Headshot Native American man concentrating on his work.
Native American couple displaying pieces to each other.
(pottery making, ceramics, handicrafts)

06:05:23:02
San Ildefonso Pueblo, New Mexico
VS Native American middle-aged couple (Maria and Julian Martinez)
removing finished pottery from kiln buried in ground & wiping dirt off.
VS finished blackware pottery on ground.
Native American man wiping off pottery & handing to woman, who arranges on ground.
Native American couple holding up finished pottery pieces & smiling.
(pottery making, ceramics, handicrafts)

06:07:41:00

NMPBS ¡COLORES!: San Ildefonso potters Maria and Julian Martinez

San Ildefonso potters Maria and Julian Martinez helped to establish Indian pottery as an art form outside of the Pueblo world.

“She always made it a point to tell me almost every day, ‘Don’t forget what you see, don’t forget what you hear, remember. One of these days what I did, what you are doing, what we are doing, will be important.’”

Find ¡COLORES! on Instagram: instagram.com/colores_nmpbs

New Mexico PBS on Facebook: facebook.com/NewMexicoPBS
New Mexico PBS on Twitter: twitter.com/nmpbs
New Mexico PBS on Instagram: instagram.com/nmpbs

NOTABLE NEW MEXICAN | Maria Martinez | New Mexico PBS

– Worldwide fame and appreciation accompanied the life of potter Maria Martinez of San Ildefonso Pueblo. Through her hard work and generous sharing of her pottery techniques, Martinez reintroduced the art of pottery making to her people, providing them with a means of artistic expression and for retaining traditional aspects of the pueblo way of life.

For more New Mexico PBS content visit

Maria Martinez: Indian Pottery of San Ildefonso (Documentary, 1972, VHS)

Maria Montoya Martinez and her son, Popovi Da demonstrate how Pueblo Indian Pottery is made using traditional methods. Filmed in San Ildefonso Pueblo, New Mexico.

"Maria Martinez, noted indian pottery maker demonstrates the traditional indian ways, beginning with the spreading of sacred corn before clay is gathered. Also shown are the mixing of clay, construction of pottery, hand decorating, and building of the firing mound."

*I do not claim ownership of this material. Intended for educational purposes.*