Ron Striegel is an enrolled member of the Potawatomi Nation.
The name "Potawatomi" is an Algonquin word which means "People of the Place of the Fire". The Potawatomi Nation was originally part of a larger group consisting of the Chippewa and Ottawa Nations. The Potawatomi kept the original “Council Fire” of the three nations. Today they are known as the “keepers of the fire”.
In the book ‘NAVAJO SILVER, A BRIEF HISTORY OF SILVERSMITHING’, Authur Woodward writes that the Potawatomi began working with silver in about 1790 with the first use of silver objects as early as 1740. Many early designs used by the Navajo can be traced to these early silversmiths.
