OCOTILLO – From a deep reflection on Dia de los Muertos about her origins and background, Jessica Anguiano, who grew up in the Imperial Valley and had an Indigenous grandmother, wanted to dedicate time to honor her roots in her artwork.

Anguiano’s art piece to be placed at Imperial Valley Desert Museum, titled “In my Grandmother’s Skin,” emerged from the urge for ancestral connection and diving into her most profound origins.

The unique beauty of Indigenous art through its connection with nature, ancestral techniques and traditions will be reflected in the work of over 17 Indigenous artists from the Southern California and Northern Baja California area who will have their art displayed in a multidisciplinary art exhibition, which will feature Indigenous artists at the Imperial Valley Desert Museum in January 2024.

Although IVDM is an indigenous museum and its focus is to highlight and celebrate culture, IVDM Executive Director Kristin O’Lear said that what makes this exhibition unique is connecting with indigenous artists specifically and not just with the indigenous tribes, organizations and local reservations, which the museum has connected with in the past.

“While we do a really good job interpreting how ancient peoples of this region lived in antiquity, we don’t have as much as we should in terms of how they are continuing to live very vibrantly today and in modern times,” O’Lear said.

“As a way to bridge a small gap, it’s one step in the right direction to host the art exhibition and highlight how Indigenous artists and Indigenous peoples are currently moving to this space,” O’Lear said, “and how art aids them in that no matter what they see with their art, what they speak in their art, really highlights that the Indigenous peoples are still very much present and that they are vibrant.”

It’s an opportunity for Indigenous artists to showcase their traditional art pieces while rooting for ancestry techniques and adapting to modern audiences, O’Lear said.

“I’m always trying to touch my roots and trying to give meaning to my art,” Anguiano said of her pieces, which have deep ancestral meaning to her.

Matilde Pacheco Navejas, Anguiano’s grandmother and a native of Jalisco from the Sierra, was a “curandera” and a “partera” in the Mexican region. She passed away at the age of 86 when Anguiano was 6 years old.

Knowing that her grandmother was in touch with the healing process through natural medicine and techniques was essential for Anguiano’s artistic side, inspiring her to create an art piece totally dedicated to her grandmother.

“The little that she taught me got embedded in me,” Anguiano said, “so I try to base all my artwork on her.”

Anguiano also holds other Indigenous roots from her father’s side, who was of native Yaqui heritage, and was forced to hide it because of persecution. However, Anguiano has been a source of light to her family background through her artistic voice.

“I always felt I wasn’t part of something, like something was missing in my life,” Anguiano said. “Recently I started researching, talking to my dad and asking him questions about my origins. That’s what came up with my painting.”

Introducing the Imperial Valley to ongoing conversations about the Indigenous community in the Imperial Valley and surrounding areas while bringing a new sense and appreciation of where they live is one of the main takeaways the exhibition facilitators want the community to have, to “(bring awareness) of the space in which they move with having ties back to the tribal communities,” O’Lear said.

“We are acting only as a facilitator but the artists themselves are the ones raising awareness about issues they feel are important to them as part of this exhibition,” O’Lear said.

Art comes naturally for Olga Navarro, one of the Indigenous artists who will also have her art piece placed at the upcoming IVDM exhibition. Navarro has a rooted talent for artwork with “chaquira” – small plastic beads, traditionally from the “Cucapáh” Indigenous tribe which are used for handmade beadwork.

“It’s an Indigenous craftwork from many years ago from our ancestors,” Navarro said in Spanish about where her inspiration for her art came from. “This craftwork was previously made by sea shelves and then we developed to ‘chaquira,’” she said. “My parents taught me how to make these bracelets.”

Her art piece consists of three bracelets, each of which is embroidered with plastic beads braided to and by each of the bracelets. Each bracelet has a landscape related to her Indigenous tribe formed by the plastic beads.

“I want to promote the indigenous craftwork,” Navarro said. “I want people to get in touch with different frames, draws and ornamental pieces. I want people to spread our culture in the United States.”

Antonia Torres Gonzalez, Wendell Sakiestewa, Camaray Davalos, Thomas Ward, Gloria Crosthwaite, Yanet Salazar Carillo, Sandra Carmona, Stacy Garbani, Amy RedFeather, Angel Garcia, Josue Vasquez, Theresa Jackson, River Garza, Summer Herrera and Lanise Luna are other Indigenous artists that will showcase their work at the IVDM art exhibition.

“Being able to connect with the artistic community has been really exciting,” Ryan Pagett, the IVDM curatorial research fellow, said. “This is not going to be an exhibition but it’s hopefully going to be like a professional development opportunity for IVDM.”

“Even more importantly, for the artists themselves, it gives them the opportunity to get to show off their work to the surrounding community,” Pagett, who is originally from Georgia where there are any federally recognized tribes at the moment, said.

Celebrating Indigenous art and honoring their cultural heritage while making people connect with their pieces are some of the takeaways the participating artists want people to get from the exhibition.

“The best is the finishing touch,” Anguiano said, “and how it will reverberate on others and they will relate to it.”