He created jewelry long before he created legislation in Congress. At 81, Ben Nighthorse Campbell reaches back into his memory to a time he and his dad walked the railroad tracks, letting the big locomotives flatten pennies for the jewelry they made.
“Making jewelry was a matter of necessity,” Campbell says of those early days in Auburn, California. “We made things out of coins. We pounded them out, working mostly with Navajo designs. Letting the trains flatten pennies and silver dollars made the work easier for us.”

Ben Nighthorse Campbell

Reversible Bear Pendant
Silver
Sterling silver with turquoise sugilite, roserita and malachite green.

Ben Nighthorse Campbell

Moccasin Tracks Necklace
Silver
“I called it Moccasin Tracks; it’s kind of a stylized footprint. I’ve only made on like this, although I’m making another one with different stones.” Sterling silver, turquoise opal, coral, and lapis