Nora Naranjo-Morse was born at Santa Clara Pueblo in 1953. She grew up at Taos Pueblo where her father—a Baptist minister—worked. After graduating from Taos High School, she received a B.A. from the College of Santa Fe in 1982, with a major in Social Welfare. Nora learned clayworking from her mother, potter Rose Naranjo, and is best known for her clay figures. Her figures often personify her social commentary on contemporary Anglo and Indian lifestyles, and have won several top awards at Indian Market. She also creates bronze sculpture and multi-media installations.

Her work has been exhibited throughout the country, and is in collections at the Heard Museum, the Museum of Northern Arizona, the Albuquerque Museum, and the Smithsonian Institution. In addition to these accomplishments, Nora is a video producer and a writer, and has published several volumes of poetry. She was a Katrin H. Lamon Fellow at the School for Advanced Research (1988-89), where she wrote poetry about pottery. She has done poetry readings and pottery demonstrations in the United States and in Europe.