"The katsina dolls made by Wilson Tawaquaptewa are among the most intriguing examples of twentieth-century Native American art. The uniqueness of the carvings themselves, Tawaquaptewa's importance as a Hopi religious and political figure, and the interrelationship between Tawaquaptewa's art and his religious-political role make his katsina dolls especially interesting."
Many believe that he carved dolls deliberately unlike specific kachinas. Thus, his dolls fall "into two distinct categories: 1.) dolls that resemble katsinas but that have been deliberately distorted or modified; and 2.) dolls that bear no resemblance to any actual katsina, and are the product of Tawaquaptewa's fertile imagination," (Walsh 2000:52-59).