Alfonso Roybal, later known as Awa Tsireh (Cat Tail Bird in the Tewa language), was born in the San Ildefonso Pueblo in New Mexico, in 1898. In 1917 his paintings began to gain recognition and he soon became one of the finest Native American painter of the first half of the twentieth century. By the early 1930’s his metalsmithing was becoming part of his legacy. Awa Tsireh’s association with the Garden of the Gods Trading Post began around 1930 and continued for at least two decades. John Adair reported in his 1944 book "The Navajo and Pueblo Silversmiths" that Awa Tsireh was only one of three men in San Ildefonso who worked silver.