Marlena Myles

Marlena Myles is a self-taught Native American (Spirit Lake Dakota/Mohegan/Muscogee) artist located in St Paul, Minnesota. Her art brings modernity to indigenous history, languages and oral traditions. Growing up on her traditional Dakota homelands here in the Twin Cities, she enjoys using her artwork to teach Minnesotans of all backgrounds the indigenous history of this place we call home.

Read all about the process and meaning of Marlena’s mural here >

Explore Marlena’s Dakota land map here >

“Today, we see the impressive structures of the Twin Cities around us, with the skylines etched into our memories. However, before these cities, there existed the Dakota village of Kaposia, previously located where the Union Depot downtown Saint Paul now stands.

Two Dakota people read the news of harvest time as imagery of the world they lived in and the world we live in floats all around them. We see the stars which guide us, the Minnesota and Mississippi rivers which offer us life from the waters, there are plants illustrated in a traditional Dakota floral style, buffalo, cranes and tipis as the skylines of the Twin Cities float through time.

As past and present history intermingle in this mural, we look forward to a future where Native presence continues to be celebrated and elevated.”

— Marlena Myles

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@mylesdesigns • linktr.ee/mylesdesigns