Mikylah Chavez Chemehuevi

IntotheUnknown

Mixed media

I was originally inspired by stories of children escaping boarding schools like old Haskell. Due to the amount of abuse and trauma that occurred, many of these children would escape through these very woods, heading into the unknown. I was also inspired by Cara Romeroʼs photography of modern Chemehuevi women.

Mollie Coffey Comanche

Onion

Mixed Media collage

I was inspired by Jason Lujan's collage of items from his home that represent parts of his identity. With my version, Chief Ten Bearsʼs famous speech from the Medicine Lodge Treaty (1867) is in the background, in part because of how I blamed my awful mental health on not being able to wander the prairie as my ancestors did instead of on the chemical imbalance, generational trauma, toxic environment, and the capitalistic society I live in. The book WhenTheLightofTheWorldWas

SubduedOurSongsCameThroughby Joy Harjo is the first comprehensive Nati ve poetry book Iʼve found. The way it is structured by geography emphasizes the connection Indigenous people have with the land, which is why I tried blending the book into the background to emphasize the prairie. With SanapiaComancheMedicineWomanI relate as a Native woman and internis t of traditional medicine alongside Western medicine. On top , I added 3 generations of jewelry. I see my great grandmas in the prairie with my ancestors, finally free to wander without walls. The title is a reference to Shrekʼs “Ogres are like onions” line. As gen z, how could I express the core layer of who I am as a person without a joke?