RENEE MONTAGNE, host:
We've been hearing about silver prices soaring, and that's something that's putting pressure on Native American silversmiths. Some are worried rising prices will hurt their livelihood.
From member station KNAU in Flagstaff, Arizona, Claudine LoMonaco reports.
CLAUDINE LOMONACO: For decades, Floyd Lomakuyuaya has crafted silver belt buckles and bracelets from his workbench in a dusty trailer atop a mesa on the Hopi Reservation.
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LOMONACO: But over the last two years, the price of silver has gone from $9 an ounce to around $35 an ounce.
Mr. FLOYD LOMAKUYUAYA (Artist): I'm only working on bracelets right now. This is a small half-inch bracelet. This is just small pieces of silver that I still have around. You know, the silver prices, they have really gone up so high that we can't afford it.
LOMONACO: Many Hopi, Navaho, and Zuni artists in the area live close to the bone, even the most accomplished and sought-after artists like Lomakuyuaya.
Mr. LOMAKUYUAYA: This is the only way we are supporting our families. If we can't get our silver then a lot of our vehicles would probably be repo.
LOMONACO: Lomakuyuaya is a trained chef and welder. He could find other work, but that would likely be far from the reservation and Hopi sacred ceremonies. He lives in one of the most traditional Hopi villages, with flute or buffalo dances every month that can take days or weeks to prepare.
Mr. LOMAKUYUAYA: We have this belief we're the caretakers of the universe, and so we have to be contented to do our thing to keep this world in one piece, otherwise it will probably fall apart.
LOMONACO: Ask a silversmith around here why silver's gone up and they'll likely shrug their shoulders and say they heard China's buying it all up. And that is part of it.
Herbert Kaufman is a finance professor emeritus at Arizona State University.
Professor HERBERT KAUFMAN (Arizona State University): China is a major producer of electronics and other devices which use silver. So there's an industrial demand out of China.
LOMONACO: But there's also a monetary demand. China is the world's largest holder of U.S. dollars. As the dollar loses value, Kaufman says it's likely China is putting more of its money in silver and gold. So is India.
In April, speculators drove silver to nearly $50 an ounce, but it's since dropped a bit and Kaufman doesn't see it dropping any further. That's good news for speculators and bad news for jewelers.
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Mr. RON MCGEE (McGee's Indian Art Gallery): This is one of Floyd's buckles that has a sun face. These retail for 750. The very same buckles just a year ago were probably around 500.
LOMONACO: Ron McGee runs a gallery just down the mesa from Floyd Lomakuyuaya's trailer. He sells wholesale to Japan, where there's a big market for Hopi jewelry, and the business helps support dozens of Native artists.
Mr. MCGEE: Floyd has established a pretty good name for himself, especially with the Japanese market, because his work is so precise and clean, as we call it. So he does very nice work and very sought after.
LOMONACO: But he says artists can raise their prices only so much.
Mr. MCGEE: Once it gets to a certain price point, it's just going to stop selling. That's the profound effect that it's going to have on the local people.
LOMONACO: McGee says he knows several artists who have quit. One top Hopi silversmith took a job as a bus driver.
MONTAGNE: And that's Claudine LoMonaco reporting from Flagstaff. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.