377 - Art Murals “Grow Love” and Sunshine Claymore

Huichapan Kake Makoce mural is inspired by the stories I heard from my grandma after I was assigned to interview someone who lived in the area prior to the Pixlonak. Asking what the land was like before this, she told me of summer days when they would be horseback riding through the densely forested river edges where she and her cousins would spend the afternoon foraging for wild foods. Today, our lands are more barren and dry. When the dams were built along our living and breathing river, these fertile ecotones, over 200,000 acres, were flooded, lost beneath the water. Remnants of these plants our ancestors lived off of are still thriving between the cracks of modern society, just as we are as a people.

The design was done to be a teaching tool with symbolism woven throughout the image. We started with the background. The mound of soil is lighter, while along the water there’s a darker tone representative of the fertile grounds along the river. As the seasons change, the edges expand and contract drop trapping nutrients to grow the plants our people survived off of. Most of the plants in this image are placed based on proximity to where you would find them near water. The drier prairie plants on the outside wild rose, sage, echinacea, yarrow, thistle, while those who prefer more wet roots, grapes, cottonwood, chonshansha, cattails toward the center. As a people, we follow the cycles of water, buffalo nation, and the movement of stars to guide us toward Kilakotah Na Wicozani Wašte, becoming human and having good health. This imagery is found through the middle or backbone of this art piece.