Native Youth Summit Illustration and Layout Design

The Coalition to Stop Violence Against Native Women asked me to create a social media graphic and website banner for their 9th Annual Native Youth Summit, which had a theme based on Black and Indigenous Solidarity. I created an illustration with the hope that it would resonate with Black and Black Native people. I had been thinking about how Black Natives can feel left out of Native communities, and I thought it was important to show a diverse group of youth. Representation is important. Since the organization is local to New Mexico, I referenced Diné and Pueblo cultures in the girls’ clothing, and because I am Ojibwe, for the boy, I gave him an Ojibwe thunderbird birchbark medallion for protection. My clients requested that I represent our nonhuman relatives in some way, so I added some Ojibwe florals around the youth.