S2E20: Delaena Uses Knife (Lakota)

When 2023 Artist in Business Leadership fellow Deleana Uses Knife (Lakota) creates work, the colors seem to dance and stories come alive. Embark on an inspiring journey with this exceptional Lakota artist from the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, whose passion for graphic design, mural creation, and dreams of animation bring the narratives of the Black Hills and Devil's Tower into vivid focus. Selena's art is more than a visual feast; it's a beacon of cultural preservation, a testament to her dedication to storytelling, and a challenge to the stereotypes that have long confined indigenous voices. Our conversation reveals how her support from the First People's Fund catalyzed her creativity, leading to a studio of her own and recognition such as the Emerging Artist Award. As she sets her sights on collaborating with giants like Walt Disney, Selena becomes a true muse for aspiring artists everywhere.

Chapters

• 0:03 Indigenous Artist Inspires Through Art
• 7:03 Empowering Native Artist for Success

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:03

And more. I want to inspire other artists to be annoying, that they belong at the table too, and there is no table, just an exerwine table. Then others will follow. The Collective Spirit Podcast.

Speaker 2: 0:27

First People's Fund presents the Collective Spirit Podcast. The Collective Spirit moves each of us to stand up and make a difference, to pass on ancestral knowledge and simply extend a hand of generosity. The Collective Spirit Podcast features Native artists and culture bearers who discuss the power of Indigenous art and culture.

Speaker 1: 0:53

My name is Selena Grey and I'm in the College of Lakota from the Shrine River Street 5. I have a graphic design degree from O'Lala Lakota College. There's a lot of great teachers and mentors there. I measured with Netflix Animation and that is one thing that I would love to get in more in-depth is to also work in that industry. But for now, I am a graphic designer and also I have done a mural in Minnesota and will do a mural for the new hospital in Rapid City for the IHS as well.

Speaker 1: 1:40

I love to do painting, mainly acrylics. I love story books. I also get my inspiration from Walt Disney and Pixar animations and I love to re-tell the stories around the Black Hills and Devil's Tower and how it began and I definitely think that's very important to have those illustrations and also making them into animations. And yeah, that's why I want to get into it. There's not a lot of artists that do that type of style. So that's just one thing I want to get into Artists, to be an artist here in Rapid City, because you come up against a lot of stereotypes, how things should be, but if you just listen to your own voice in your own head and heart, that just kind of separates what people think about you and you have your own identity.

Speaker 1: 2:51

That's really important when you're an artist. You have your own mind about it. I think everyone has a thought about how things should go, but I would say, just trust yourself as an artist and have your own mind about what you want. And my goal as an artist is my need of culture, you know, and that's very important to me and that's why I love to do my illustrations. My intentions were small, I say, to have a better presentation by myself, because I didn't have a vendor sign, I didn't have that type of equipment and my friends were encouraging me and I mainly surrounded myself with business people and they helped me with my proposal and they're the ones that told me that I could do it, that I had something special and unique, that voice that other young people needed.

Speaker 1: 4:08

Doing this fellowship has really helped me. It helped me build that studio because I never had a studio. What I had was my bed and my phone and my laptop and the first people's fun helped me and get that computer. They help me get my vendors, my things and my desk and things that would have cost a lot of money. They granted me 10 K, which I feel really blessed with. There's a lot of projects that I'm thinking about, like making my own favorite wine and also making stickers and more business cards and t-shirts. I'm just really grateful to be on top of this fellowship, the next one being for travel to go to certain markets to sell my artwork and I recently got done with one this past weekend at that native pop in Rapid City, south Dakota, and they gave me one award that was for a Merging Artist Award this year and I also sold some prints at the market and it went pretty well.

Speaker 1: 5:37

I think I've always told people that I want to work for Walt Disney one day and that's my goal. I've been really blessed to talk to someone who does work for Walt Disney. Walt did, and they gave me some advice on how to work towards those goals. I've always painted and I had a rough childhood which has led me to be a survivor of these bad things about my life, and if someone were to ask me what my childhood was like, I wouldn't know what to tell them because my brain doesn't let me go that far back, and today I have this summer that sometimes comes and goes and stuff like that, and my art has always been inspired by that hope that, no matter how bad it got, that innocence is still there.

Speaker 1: 7:03

And who I am as a Nacotu Lakota woman, I can say that my honestly kept the promise to that little girl that I'm still painting, I'm still drawing and that one day you'll see me working on that big Hollywood project because I belong anywhere.

Speaker 1: 7:34

And that's how we should think of ourselves that we belong everywhere and we can do anything. That's what drives me and that's one thing I hope people can just know that they can persevere. I'll do anything that they do in their life. And yeah, that's pretty much what I think about why I want to be a Nacotu Lakota woman and who I am as a person, and more I want to inspire other artists to be annoying, that they belong at the table too, and if there is no table, then just make your own table, then other people will follow. It's still a great opportunity for other artists to give it a start, because some people just don't know how to start. I would say just go to school, because that's what I did and that's how it started for me. Anyway, I got to meet other great artists that helped me and mentioned me and gave me ideas. Just have that open mind about yourself and just grow as an artist wwwNacotuLakotaorg.