Dawn Navasie (Polaquimana, Red Tail Hawk, Water Clan) was born to Eunice Navasie and Joel Nahsonhoya at Toreva (Second Mesa) in July, 1961. Among her siblings were Dolly Joe (White Swann) Navasie and Fawn Navasie. Their grandmother was Paqua Naha, famous as First Frogwoman. All three siblings learned the intimate details of traditional pottery making from their mother, Eunice.

Dawn began playing with clay when she was about 4 years old but didn't get serious about it until shortly after graduating from high school. Then, working with her mother and following her advice, Dawn was soon entering major juried competitions and winning awards for her work, including a Best of Division at the Hopi Show of the Museum of Northern Arizona. It's been said that she inherited her famous mother's sure hands and design vision. When their mother died, the three sisters divided up her polishing stones and kept using them.

Dawn's favorite designs were rainbirds, rain and clouds. She painted with red and black, the red coming from yellow clay mixed with water (it turns red during the firing), the black from boiled down beeweed. Her brushes are traditional: the chewed ends of strips of yucca plant. She fired outdoors with her husband helping, using pieces of cedar and dry sheep dung to build her fire. The pots were placed specifically in a four-direction pattern on a piece of tin-covered grate, then covered with large pottery shards and pieces of tin to protect the pottery in the firing (wind, smoke and uneven heat that produce fire clouds). She also sprinkled dried cedar sprigs around the bottom of the fire to purify the pottery.

For many years Dawn was a regular at the Santa Fe Indian Market, the Heard Museum Indian Arts Fair & Market, the Museum of Northern Arizona Hopi Show and others.