Robert is a Hopi artisan who is currently specializing in kachina doll carving. His father Stephen Albert, Jr., was also a carver as well as a talented artist working in pencil, pastels and calligraphy. Robert grew up in Phoenix but spent much of his time with relatives at the Hopi village of Moencopi. He was initiated into the Kachina Society when he was nine. At that time, his god mother, Martha Numkena, gave him his Hopi name, Sakhomenwa, which means "tobacco laid out straight to dry."

He began drawing at home as a child and then started carving kachina dolls when he was in high school. Robert attended the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe from 1984 to 1986 and graduated with a fine arts degree in two dimensional art. He then went to and graduated in 1989 from a commercial art school. He moved to Tucson in 1990 to work full time as a kachina doll carver. His work is now sold throughout the United States.

Robert uses a variety of traditional and modern tools to create his dolls. Paints are acrylic and a wood sealer is used to protect the wood from the elements. He carefully prepares for each carving to be sure that the style of clothing, jewelry and special attributes of each kachina are faithfully reproduced. He does not have a "preferred" type of kachina for carving but does enjoy the more colorful kachinas. Recently he has been inspired by the well known Hopi carver, Cecil Calnimptewa, whose exacting and realistic approach to carving has resulted in many "life-like" kachina dolls. This influence is evident in the anatomical intricacy and motion characterizing Robert's dolls. Most of his dolls range in size from six to twelve inches.

Awards and Recognition:
2000: Multiple references and photos of dolls in, A Guide to Hopi Katsina Dolls, Kent McManis.

1997: Santa Fe Indian Market, Second Place, Kachina Doll

1994: Gallup Ceremonial, Third Place, Kachina Doll

1993: American Indian Art Festival and Market, Dallas, Texas, Second Place, Kachina Doll
Museum of Northern Arizona Hopi Show, Flagstaff, Arizona, First Place, Miniature Kachina Doll

1991: American Indian Art Festival and Market, Dallas, Texas, First Place, Kachina Doll