JAYCIE
DINÉ & SANTA CLARA PUEBLO
AGE: 16
My name is Jaycie and my Tewa name is Tsegi Shida Puganini, meaning yellow dancing butterfly. I am Santa Clara Pueblo and Dine’ and live in Salt Lake City, Utah. I was never really proud of my heritage because I rarely saw people like me, so I just wanted to blend into society. Since then, I have grown to love who I am and who I come from. Art has given me an outlet to be myself. Art has no boundaries or restrictions and that’s why I love it. It gives me a voice I never thought I had.
As a person who lives in an urban area with very little diversity, my sense of belonging as an indigenous youth comes from knowledge of culture. The person in the middle represents me in modern society. The person on the left represents who I am as a Dine’ woman. The person on the left represents my Santa Clara Pueblo culture. The background shows how I am constantly being taught my traditions and my ways. With all of these elements combined, it tells people who I am, who I have become, and how proud I am to be an indigenous woman.
