NDN SUMMER, 2023

Being invited to work on a show alongside California artists for the Wheelwright Museum inspired me to think about the state of our cultural landscape and our survivance. Made in collaboration with Leah Mata-Fragua and our daughters Naomi Whitehorse and Crickett Tiger, this image gives broad strokes to ideas and issues that are part of being California Natives today. With the Coastal regalia made by Leah and a Chemehuevi basket from the Coe—the aesthetics offer the viewer insight into the shared fiber and shell traditions of the landscapes. The photograph also confronts the impacts of gold, climate change, wildfires, gaming, and tribal enrollment. So much has changed in our lifetimes yet we survive.