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Natasha Smoke-Santiago, Mohawk Nation, Turtle Clan. 
 
In 1981, Natasha received her first introduction to clay at age 9 from Seneca potter Michael Jones during a visit to the Iroquois Indian Museum. At 17, Natasha mentored with Mohawk potter Sosakete/Roger Perkins. 
 
For Smoke-Santiago, there is a natural connection between herself as a woman and her traditionally inspired pottery. The Mohawk work for pottery is the same term used to describe a woman's torso. Both the belly of the a woman and that of a pot, she points out, hold "the seeds" and promise of the future. 
 
Natasha Smoke-Santiago resides with her family at Akwesasne Reservation near Hogansburg, NY.