A euniQue mural created for Palabras Librería Bookstore. This educational and interactive experience was created to bring awareness about the importance of language, culture, and identity. The mural mapped out numbered magnets that when lifted and turned over, depicted the region of an indigenous language and the amount of people left speaking. The data was based on the US 2010 Census and is apart of a bigger map of languages in the US. Our educational system has methodically eliminated indigenous languages for centuries through boarding school policies and statues that still impact today’s tribal students. This mural hopefully brings a visual representation of endangered languages and cultural identities that thrive in the southwest despite the odds. The graphic used represent the resiliency of the succulent to protect natures beautiful design; the healing properties in the Ocotillo for women, used among the southern tribes; continued nourishment of the mind and body, or lack thereof, through the cacti image; the sustainability and usefulness of the yucca; and the growth of history in the Juniper come together to reflect the fading of our rich cultural land and the delicate tethering to nature. “Language is culture, culture protects our land.”
