Dakota Sky Stone History

The story of our family business began in the late 1960s, when my grandfather, Clint, was working as a traveling insurance salesman. His route took him through Arizona and New Mexico, where he sold insurance to Native American families living on the reservations.

During one of those trips, he met an incredible artist named Justin Morris. Clint was immediately drawn to the jewelry, the craftsmanship, and the artistry behind each piece. He was so intrigued that the very next week, he brought my grandmother, Ginny, down to Arizona to meet Justin.

She immediately fell in love with turquoise, Native American jewelry, and the beauty behind every handcrafted piece. Each time she traveled with her husband, she would bring back several beautiful pieces of jewelry in her little black trinket box. She began to sell these pieces to all of her friends.

From these little trips, the family business of selling handmade, authentic turquoise jewelry was born.

In 1971, Ginny opened her first store, Ginny’s House of Turquoise. It became so popular that even celebrities made their way to the store to buy jewelry from my grandma.

Ginny would bring Native American artists to sit in the store and teach people about the jewelry and the stones.

My mother, Nettie, tells amazing stories about my grandma.

“My mother would come home from her trips to the reservations, and I remember she would lay a blanket down in the living room and lay out all of the pieces she had bought. She would tell me all about them, whether the artist was Navajo or Zuni. They were just the most magnificent, most beautiful pieces of jewelry I had ever seen!”

And with those stories, she passed down her love of turquoise jewelry and working with Native American artists while visiting their reservations.

Nettie started visiting the reservations with her mom and became deeply passionate about the way Native American families lived, their spiritual beliefs, the way they raised their families, and everything about their culture.

She felt that this business was her calling.

“People may think we’re crazy, but I’m telling you, I get just as excited, even now, when I see a piece of jewelry that I just feel calls to me. It’s amazing!”