Ben Nighthorse

Events

“What I do with my hands is really an extension of what the creator wills. The only person that can create is the creator.” –Ben Nighthorse

For over fifty years, Northern Cheyenne artist Ben Nighthorse has created beautiful, award winning jewelry. Ben Nighthorse moved to Tokyo in 1960 to train for the 1964 Olympic games, where he captained the U.S. Olympic Judo Team. In Japan, his interest in metal-working grew when he studied under a Samurai sword maker. He began to develop techniques of laminating metals and jewelry designs that were heavily influenced by his time in Asian culture. 

After he moved back to the United States, he and his wife, Linda, became champion horse trainers. American Indians often believe that a person can inherit some of an animal's virtues by wearing an image of it. That is one reason why noble animals have always played an important role in Nighthorse designs.  

The “Morning Star,” a unique symbol of the Cheyenne, was the emblem of Morning Star, better known as Dull Knife, the great Cheyenne chief. The Northern Cheyenne maintain to this day a homeland in Montana in large part due to chief Morning Star’s courage and determination as a leader. The Northern Cheyenne granted Ben Nighthorse permission to use this enduring symbol of strength as his signature stamp which is featured on all of his jewelry creations. 

To own a piece of Nighthorse, is to own a piece of history. Ben Nighthorse Jewelry is found exclusively at Sorrel Sky Gallery.