MEZTLI PROJECTS
Meztli Projects supports the creative development of Native and Indigenous artists.
We were founded with the intent to address the severe lack of artistic opportunities for Native and Indigenous Artists as-well-as systems-impacted youth living and creating in Los Angeles County (Tovaangar). This work takes shape in several forms such as for-hire opportunities, advocating for truly equitable resources such as but not limited to funding and culturally authentic (not just relevant) programming, and training future and emerging cultural workers.
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INDEX ARTISTS EXHIBITION
Rihanna Barrera
El Castillo, 2024
Installation, mixed media on compressed plywood
16W x 48H x 24D Inches
El Castillo is an homage to my upbringing in South Los Angeles, my family, and the childhood inspirations that influence the artist I am today. This building represents the pink apartment complex where I grew up with one of my grandmothers and reflects much of my community. From graffiti to street murals, I have learned to appreciate this expressive art form, which is evident in my work style. This building was a doorway to the realities of the world, but also a refuge from it.
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Joel Garcia
menily’s muse, 2024
Painting on watercolor paper, acorn & oak gall dye, iron, oil stick, ink
Oak frame stained with acorn & oak gall dye.
36 x 48
inches
Menily’s muse was created using an acorn and oak gall dye process that centers on the land and its gifts, highlights cultural practices that have existed for hundreds of years, and employs regenerative methods for creating art. Dyes from oak trees are found in basket weaving, regalia-making, and other important tribal art forms. The depiction of a yucca moth is part of a series on endangered pollinators in Southern California and serves as a study of water, dyes, gravity, and alchemy, utilizing ironized water to produce a spectrum of colors ranging from rich golden browns to dark purples.
Yucca (chiy'a*) Moths (kwa'i*) are spring and nighttime pollinators, and they are the only creatures that pollinate yucca flowers. The majestic relationship between the moon (ménil/menill/menilly/man-el) yucca, yucca moths, and First Peoples has long informed lifeways and stewardship practices.
This painting and series emerged while sitting in awe of the bats and moths taking flight during warm spring sunsets in East Los Angeles.
*Cahuilla language. There is no direct translation for yucca moth.
Moon translates to Mwar in the Tongva language.
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Kenneth Lopez
06.06.24.7.02.54, 2024
Woven Paper and Photograph
27.375 x 25.875 inches
06.06.24.7.02.54 is an homage not only to our natural relatives but also to all the native basket weavers I’ve encountered since starting my journey as a photographer. Although this particular weave isn't one I've personally seen as a native basket pattern, I wanted to highlight one of the primary areas where some of the materials for weaving specific baskets are sourced. In this case, it's the Chinui Paxaayt, also known as the San Gabriel River, while simultaneously showcasing the beauty of our natural relatives and those lands despite human interference.
Mexico is imagined through the story of a golden eagle perched on a cactus wrestling with a rattlesnake; this mighty egret perches itself not on a cactus but a Target shopping cart and possibly wrestling with trash… is this what America imagines itself to be?
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Kimberly Robertson
Deer Woman, 2024
Deer Woman (pink), Deer Woman (blue), Deer Woman (purple), Deer Woman (peach), 2024
Metal hangers, plastic and wooden beads, lipstick knives
60 x 36 inches
As a Mvskoke woman and a survivor of gender-based violence, I created Deer Woman - a collection of four beaded tapestries - to address the issue of violence against Native femmes. I used pony beads and the peyote stitch technique to construct each tapestry. They hang from golden clothes hangers and are finished with strands of fringe that end in knives disguised as lipsticks. Through the tapestries, I aim to explore the tension between the beauty and the danger that comes with embracing Native femme identities under settler colonialism and cisheteropatriarchy.
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Emilia Cruz
Cuervito Offerings, 2025
Ceramic sculpture
8 x 9 inches
After visiting my abuelito's cantera sculptures in San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, Mexico, my biggest learning lesson was how beautifully his pieces intertwined with the elements outside. I created my piece to honor this observation and to leave food offerings for my crow friends who often visit our house.
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Kimberly Robertson
Haunting, 2024
Metal hanger, copper wire, glass and plastic beads
12 x 27 inches
The relentless and intentional criminalization, incarceration, and murder of journalists has been a key strategy of the Israeli genocide of Palestinian peoples. According to The Committee to Protect Journalists, as of November 12, 2024, 137 journalists have been confirmed killed, 47 injured, 2 missing, and 71 arrested by the Israeli state, making this the deadliest period for journalists since CJP began gathering data in 1192. CJP is investigating an additional 130 cases of potential killings, arrests, and injuries, but many are difficult to document amid the conditions of genocide.
Nevertheless, courageous and selfless journalists continue to put their lives on the line for justice and liberation. Haunting aims to honor the martyrs whose lives were stolen from them and to call attention to both the atrocities of genocide and to the inextinguishable spirit of Palestinian resistance.
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Kenneth Lopez
Moč (Color), 2025
Woven Photograph
60 x 24.125 inches
Moč (color; probably from mon “to paint” + -š “passive”) is meant to give a glimpse into the space known as Wištoyo. Through Wištoyo I got to experience the impact of seeing a community truly come together ( “uš’išmoč” in Šmuwič) this left a strong impression on me. The blue sky woven into ocean like waves represents the beauty in connections I made that day, while the unwoven strands serve as a representation of the hopes and dreams of the people that stand united within the Wištoyo community.
Wištoyo is the Šmuwič word for rainbow, the word also represets a “bridge” that links Chumash culture, wisdom, and values to present day. Specifically sorrounding the protection of cultural and natural resources.
Translations by “Integrated Dictionary of Schmuwich- Barbareño Chumash” Richard Applegate, Ph.D.
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River T. Garza
Tovaangar Placa, 2025
Steel, aluminum, Plinth: Italian Marble
16 x 11 inches
Tovaangar is a Tongva place name for the world (the Los Angeles basin). This plaque is designed to convey a sense of place and temporality to the viewer. The plaque is presented on top of an Italian marble plinth. The choice of Italian Marble is a direct reference to sculptural works from the Renaissance; artists like Michelangelo used white Italian marble to carve masterpieces like David and the Pieta. The canon of art history has positioned Indigenous artists outside of the art historical narrative; important works by Indigenous artists have only been framed in the past tense. Thus, the use of Italian marble is not only an allusion to the materials used by the “masters” but also calls into question the positionality of Indigenous art/artists within the narrative of art history.
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Alexandria Ybarra
Remembrance, 2025
Glazed ceramics, net, acorns
12 x 12 x 12 inches
This sacred medicine gifted by Creator to guide our ways, known as momoy, is a relative that blooms at dusk and rests midday when the sun is at its highest point, reflecting the solar stillness. This ephemeral rhythm mirrors the fleeting yet profound wisdom it carries.
The glaze streaming inward within the flute reflects the medicine’s gifts, inviting us to journey inward and uncover the overflowing abundance of inner knowing. Though momoy appears delicate on the surface, it holds a powerful core, reminding us that true strength and understanding often lie deep within.
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Alexandria Ybarra
My Heart, Our Sacred Ocean, Are You Its Protection or Destruction?, 2024
Glazed Ceramic, Mirror
37 x 30 Inches
This portal asks visitors to consider the impacts of colonization on First Peoples’ seafaring lifeways, the waters, and ocean living beings that they consider relatives and hold sacred.
As coastal people, our waters, our ocean relatives, our life source, are sacred. Colonial greed continues. Unfortunately, human decisions and greed have caused our climate to change, putting our waters under catastrophic heat conditions that ultimately endanger our waters, our ocean corals, our kelp forests, and our animal relatives, threatening our long-held seafaring traditions. However, we look beyond the horizon and see our Islands still standing and surviving, and we feel and see our ancestors within us as strength to continue.
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Kenneth Lopez
06.06.24.7.02.54, 2024
Woven Paper and Photograph
27.375 x 25.875 inches
06.06.24.7.02.54 is an homage not only to our natural relatives but also to all the native basket weavers I’ve encountered since starting my journey as a photographer. Although this particular weave isn't one I've personally seen as a native basket pattern, I wanted to highlight one of the primary areas where some of the materials for weaving specific baskets are sourced. In this case, it's the Chinui Paxaayt, also known as the San Gabriel River, while simultaneously showcasing the beauty of our natural relatives and those lands despite human interference.
Mexico is imagined through the story of a golden eagle perched on a cactus wrestling with a rattlesnake; this mighty egret perches itself not on a cactus but a Target shopping cart and possibly wrestling with trash… is this what America imagines itself to be?
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River T. Garza
Barrell No.1, 2025
Fiberboard, acrylic, and enamel
69 x 35.5 Inches
This sculpture is part of an ongoing body of work that critiques the commercialization and commodification of Indigenous medicine and spiritual practices.
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Joel Garcia
xapawiyemeta | the isle of scorpions, 2024
Natural dye painting on watercolor paper, cochineal, citrus, black 4.0, iron
28.25 x 39.5 inches
This painting is part of a series of works that focus on water, natural plant-based dyes, gravity, and alchemy. xapawiyemeta | the isle of scorpions is based on the Huichol (Wixarika) creation story and is the place where rain was born and humanity emerged after the universal flood, located near Lake Chapala in Jalisco, Mexico. Painted using cochineal to resemble the interaction between lava and water, the painting conveys the volatile and tender mixtures that nurture life.
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Isaac Michael Ybarra
She'aaxme "They weave together", 2025
Video Art
She'aaxme "They weave together" is dedicated to the Tongva Basketry Collective. I am inspired by a group of multigenerational weavers reawakening and nurturing culture, coming together to uplift and heal our community, thriving despite the impacts colonization has caused, and the attempt to fragment our families. This is an interconnected response to colonial wounds. I invite the audience to imagine themselves on a bluff anywhere, imagining a life without taxes, pollution, and oppression.
The video narrates the story that, despite living in an urban environment which can evoke feelings of torment, the land has always been and will always be a source of sustenance. This poem is meant to be read in the style of Oorei, where the title should be read either before or after the first five stanzas.
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Aanii Tate
Black Mesa, 2025
Paper cut, shadow, light, archival digital print
12 x 18 inches
This piece is inspired by Diné woven saddle blankets, rug patterns, the grains of turquoise, and the canyon rivers. The homelands of my Dinè relatives are highly visible, highly trafficked, and often exhibited and on display. The photo I chose was the sight of the Peabody Coal Archaeology Project (1963-1975) at Black Mesa, Arizona, where some of my family members were hired to dig, and is representative of other sites that have been exploited for industry and tourism. This layered paper cut panel of collaged patterns precedes the photo to offer disruption to the view of the landscape and scenic view that has been subject to hyper visibility and extraction.
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River T. Garza
Ti’at Society Placa, 2025
Salvaged coastal redwood courtesy of Angel City Lumber
14 x 24 inches
This sculpture is designed to connect elements of Tongva maritime culture with lowrider aesthetics. Ti’at Society is an intertribal community organization focused on cultural preservation and improving Indigenous Peoples' access to land, water, and the use of boats (Ti’ats). These plaques are typically linked to lowrider car clubs and act as identifiers and markers of a community of people with similar values and efforts. This plaque serves a similar purpose, representing and signifying the members of Ti’at Society and our Ti’at, Mo’omat Ahiko (Breath of the Ocean).
Salvaged coastal redwood courtesy of Angel City Lumber.
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Skyler Green
Misery Is Company, 2024
Video Art
This short film drifts through the night like a memory told through the eyes of a young girl chasing the freedom she once knew. I want the viewer to feel the adventure and adrenaline of the night, guided by chance and feeling. It ends with a gentle question: “If there’s a moon out tonight, would you like to take a walk with me?
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