Indigenous Roots

City Mischief Murals in collaboration with Indigenous Roots created a mural celebrating four Twin Cities multicultural women dancers, Mary Anne Quiroz (Mexika Aztec), Holly Henning (Anishinaabe), Djenane Saint-Juste (Haitian) and Sghne Xgino (Hmong).

The large-scale mural can be viewed on the corner of Arcade & E. 7th Street in Saint Paul, a few blocks from the Indigenous Roots Cultural Arts Center.

All the women were painted in their traditional regalia, showing them standing in unity, representing various cultures & traditions. The goal is to create a mural that reflects the strength, beauty & power we hold when uniting our communities together.

Thomasina Topbear is a self-taught Indigenous muralist. She is a member of an international all-female art crew Few & Far Women and recently helped form an all-BIPOC art collective City Mischief Murals. Thomasina has organized a number of local and national community-based mural events focusing on youth, women & indigenous artists. She draws influences from her Dakota/Lakota culture, graffiti and uses her murals to express her feelings on community, social justice, culture, feminism and togetherness.

Joy Spika is a dedicated youth worker, teaching artist, muralist and musician. She is a practicing artist who has been engaging with both youth and emerging Twin Cities artists since receiving her BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Joy is passionate about working with young people who want to explore the possibilities of what the arts has to offer them and hopes to help elevate the experiences of the community.

Holly (Miskitoos) Henning is an active Indigenous visual artist and has been a part of several community based events throughout the United States, Canada, Africa and Mexico. Holly uses traditional beadwork, birch bark biting, acrylics, aerosol, airbrush and traditional dance as a personal and political tool to address, explore and portray contemporary indigenous struggle. Holly is Marten Falls First Nations, Constance Lake First Nations Cree and Ojibwe.

Charles (Wanisin) Garcia visual artist and photographer. His artwork and photography examine social and political issues such as the criminalization of immigrants and indigenous populations, urban life, self-identity and the realities of our communities in which we struggle to thrive.

Student Artists: Simone Tinker, AJ Kimble and Cheyenne Gill