Kumeyaay
Mescalero Apache

I am Kumeyaay from San Diego on my grandfathers side and Mescalero Apache on my grandmother’s side. I was born in San Diego and raised in our Kumeyaay  traditions.

Growing up Black/ Indigenous and a foster child was never easy.  One of the houses I was placed in signed me up for summer beading classes.  I had no idea that one class would be the seed for my future growth.

In 2012 that lil seed started to sprout and I picked up the seed beads and with each bead I tacked down I began to heal and find myself.

There have been many chapters along the way, but here I am now. Living and loving my dark skin, while finding and making my own place in this world as an Indigenous/black person. With that healing has come a lot of peace and acceptance within me. All that pent up anger, confusion and rejection has been remolded into forgiveness and love for myself, specifically my childhood self. I have been able to grow in my art and spread the  good medicine around, with the hopes of becoming a good ancestor for our future generations.