In your bio, you mention that your work “comes from the intersection of a queer identity and honoring ancestral indigeneity.” In terms of aesthetics and approach, how does that intersection shape your practice?

I am born to the clans Ta'neeszahnii (Tangle clan) and Naakai dine'é (The Mexican Clan) of the Diné, maternally. My paternal side is Bilagáana (Anglo), so I’ve always felt a dissonance with who I was supposed to be. As a city Native, I grew up with internalized heteronormative ideas of sexuality and gender. As well as distance from traditional Diné practices. I enforced these colonial logics on myself out of fear of being seen as different, and kept a distant relationship with religion until my late teens. I would like to recognize the privilege my masculine presentation gave (and still gives me) and how my positionality has impacted my growth/success. Being keenly aware of how society is innately programmed to uplift individuals like myself who move through the world presenting masculine, I have made it integral to uplift counter-narratives of dominant culture… yet it was not until after university that I felt compelled to research the intersection of my queerness and Indigeneity. Through seeking knowledge on Indigenous sovereignty in the US, I was able to gain a better understanding of myself as a queer Native, and also gain a more nuanced understanding of the state-enacted genocide of my people. Now, I see these colonial powers have been systematically targeting Native erasure for centuries, which is deeply upsetting, but has given me perspective of my work as an artist, and the direction I wish to take to unwind the harms enacted towards my people. Lately, photography has allowed me to further decolonize my body, my mind, and my practice. By acknowledging stolen land and honoring feminine energy, photography has created a form of visual sovereignty. Within these self-portraits, I honor the feminine energy within my communities, my family, and myself. I honor the fluidity of gender and the ancestral indigenous land we inhabit.