Born into the Hopi-Tewa Spider clan in 1944, Burel is the son of Helen Naha and grandson of Paqua Naha. He is also a nephew of Joy Navasie and the brother of Sylvia and Rainy Naha. While he learned a lot about the traditional way of making pottery from his mother as he grew up, he went on after high school to earn a BA at Brigham Young University and became a school teacher for many years. Eventually, though, he returned to making pottery.

At first he made only the styles and designs he had learned from his mother. Then one day his daughter Cynthia came home from school with a computerized photo of a spider she had drawn. He was entranced. He decided to include the spider in his pottery designs and has now become the "Spider Man" of Hopi potters.

Burel signs his work with the Long Hair Kachina hallmark. He sometimes adds his name and sometimes follows that with the feather design of his mother.