IAIA has always been a place where you could#kind of do anything.

It was a place where you could belong to and express yourself.

You#had your own tribe here.

We have a community here.

I've always been drawing.

My mother instilled a really good work ethic in me, even if it was just leave me alone and go draw.

And I didn't really know what I was doing until I came out here.

The colors, the temperature, the landscape, the fact that Native art was accepted and they just supported me all along#the way.

I was studying with Linda Lomahaftewa, who was my first instructor here.

Linda was#showing me the basics in two-dimensional design.

She educated me on different native artists I#should look at that were colorist.

Her work plays a big part in my work.

Her landscape, the colors that she chooses.

It's very much part in the DNA, you know, and that's what I mean about the IAIA art 'cause we're all exchanging a narrative.

I always encourage students to come to the Institute of American Indian Arts because it's it is a growing family and you know once#you come here, you're part of the family.

I'm a painter and print maker and I was actually one of the first students that attended IAIA.

It was all new for me to meet so many Native#students from all the different tribes that were here.

We learned a lot of the crafts#and our cultural ways, songs and stories we all shared with each other.

We were able to use those to create modern-day artwork.

This mural here was created about 24#years ago by IAIA students.

We each put our individual designs kind of bits and pieces of culture and this design was originated by Milo Marks or Emilo Marks I must say.

He's#Athabaskan.

We had a circular motion which we believe counterclockwise is the way#the world moves.

We had the raven design on the outskirts.

Edward Joe took it because he was#Tlingit.

We had Rochelle Adams who was Athabaskan that put the salmon design swimming against the#stream.

Darian Smiley, who was Navajo.

He wanted the four mountains to be represented.

and then#Buffalo Gouge and myself we wanted the corn to represent corn cultures and the Muskogee Creek.

The circular piece in the middle represents fire which will carry our prayers up to the creator Ofvnkv which means creator in Muskogee.

With a mural you have to kind of be conduit for a community's# belief systems.

I'll come back here to IAIA, get inspired by the new artist, help them out# with shows, maybe I know an opportunity that would help.

You become selfless.

It's even#deeper than just artwork.

It goes back to that generational connection.

It's continuing to# share those stories and ideas and cultural ways.

We just support each other through the arts.