Samantha Valdez is a self taught Alutiiq/Sugpiaq bead artist. Raised in Palmer, AK with family on her mother’s side from Old Harbor. Great granddaughter to the Traditional Chief Costia Inga of the village of Old Harbor. She draws inspiration from the petroglyphs/markings that the Alutiiq/Sugpiaq people make. As well as from nature and the materials she has around herself. Samantha loves working with various materials but her favorites are seal gut, salmon vertebrae that she harvests/cleans and dyes herself, brain tanned hides, dentalium shells and various furs.
She has drawn a lot of inspiration for her most recent work from a pair of earrings that came to her in a dream that were made in the spring of 2023. In her dream, they were flowing so beautifully with a circle marking and dot in the middle, long fringes of beads with dentalium shells and fur coming out the bottom. Since then the shells and fur have become a staple in her beadwork.