ECM: Why did you become an artist?

MM: I think I was just born to be an artist. My grandmother, who was an artist too, always gave us art supplies for birthdays and holidays. My mother created traditional beadwork and we watched her all the time as she made beautiful pieces. So really, being artistic is just a natural thing in my family.

In school, they let us play on computers so I created my first art in a program called KidPix in the mid-90s. I really loved computers so we were one of the first people we knew to have one at home in the late-90s, so I spent a lot of time happily being a “computer nerd.”

As I got older and more mature, I always had inner ambitions about creating works that honored my ancestors, so I made a plan of computer programs I would have to learn, techniques I would have to learn in order to bring my visions into reality. Once I found that purpose, it became clear to me that I should become a professional artist. I want my current piece to teach my culture to the younger generations, make it easier for them to learn our Dakota language and see our artforms being created with modern technology.

ECM: What are the challenges and joys of being an artist? 

MM: Growing up in South Minneapolis, I found ways to find an inner strength by creating art. Now that I’m a professional artist, one of the joys is going back to my old neighborhood to teach about my art and the ways it has empowered me. I create resources and learning materials to help fill the void of things I didn’t have growing up so that the next generations won’t have the same struggles. Researching and sharing what I learn through my art fills my heart with satisfaction, doing what I can to make a positive impact.

The more I learn about my culture, the more it empowers me. That inner strength I find in it, I try to pass that onto the youth so they will always have it on their journeys through life.

Marlena recommends these books sharing authentic Lakota stories

Tasunka: A Lakota Horse Legend
by Donald F. Montileaux

Takoza: Walks with the Blue Moon Girl
by Tara Perron

Tatanka and the Lakota People
by Donald F. Montileaux

ECM: How did the idea of painting Sun Spirit come to you?

MM: Dakota people have an epic creation story of how the universe was created and how everything is intertwined through that creation. So the Aŋpétu Wí piece (Dakota Sun Spirit) is just one of the eight most powerful spirits to come from Wakháŋ Tháŋka (The Great Mystery, similar to how it’s still very mysterious how the Big Bang created/started the universe).

I graduated high school in the Black Hills of South Dakota, near the Badlands, which is where this piece is situated. The heat of the sun, the brightness of the skies all stuck in my mind as signs of the sun’s power, so that’s also something I wanted to include. My ancestors would find the fish fossils in the Badlands, so they would tell how there used to be dangerous water serpents long ago to explain their existence. Those serpents known as Uŋktéȟi were responsible for flooding all the nearby villages so the spirits stepped in to answer the people’s prayers for help. There was a great battle between those serpent spirits and the Wakíŋyaŋ, Thunder Beings. The Sun Spirit delivered the final blow by drying up the waters and they say the formations in the Badlands are the Uŋktéȟi’s bones.

ECM: What was most rewarding about creating the Sun Spirit painting?

MM: While researching the piece, I learned about the sacredness of the cottonwood tree, how it is used in the Sun Dance, how sunflowers worship the sun and because of their dedication, wherever they grow is sacred and was able to share that in my art piece. This piece was displayed at the Minneapolis Institute of Art, the biggest art museum in Minnesota. I would go there all the time when I was younger and never once did I think my art would be on the same walls as great artists like Picasso, Monet, etc. So that was a pretty remarkable experience.

ECM: What advice do you have for young artists?

MM: My advice is to experiment with many different art forms and not be afraid to create mixed media artworks. Find a greater purpose for your art, use it to build bridges, bring healing to those who need it and don’t be afraid of taking risks. Always find a way to keep growing as an artist.

Expanding into new art forms is what I continue to do. Years after finishing the Aŋpétu Wí piece, I learned to animate it (self-taught in all my artforms) and created a music video for Dakota poet John Trudell’s “Look at Us.” I wanted to create a memorial piece that shares Trudell’s words with a wider audience as I don’t think he gets enough recognition for his powerful writing.

Learning about the symbolism behind butterflies in L/Dakota cultures, I used to connect my artwork with his song: butterflies carry stories on their wings of the places they’ve been, how they represent departed spirits and new life, how they encircle what is precious. Those are the meanings of the butterfly in this animation, as they escape Iŋktómi’s (the spider) tricks with the help of Aŋpétu Wí, the L/Dakota sun spirit. The glitch effects represent the way humans are corrupted from the natural ways, as Aŋpétu Wí tries to illuminate the path for us to find balance again.

Marlena Myles is a Spirit Lake Dakota/Mohegan/Muscokee Creek artist and designer. She uses her art to celebrate her Indigenous culture and language and to help the public understand the significance of Native oral traditions and history.
She is the illustrator of the award-winning poetry anthology picture book, THANKU: Poems of Gratitude.
Find out more about Marlena at https://marlenamyl.es/

TRY OUT different colored construction paper and see what you think. Spoiler Alert: Blue-colored papers seem to work best. Even the photographic sun print papers you can buy are blue. Why is that? Perhaps for the same reason the sky is blue? Watch the video & visit this site.