^{“When I'm making art, I feel like a human being. There's also this responsibility that comes from a Dakota perspective, Dakota philosophy. We have this work to do. We have these traditions that we must carry forward. We have to come back from cultural genocide.”}

The personal is braided with the collective.

Erin Genia

Erin Genia, Sisseton-Wahpeton Dakota, is a multidisciplinary artist, educator and community organizer specializing in Native American and Indigenous arts and culture.

Erin reminds us that the personal and the collective are braided together when one practices with grounding and intention. She spoke with us about how her creative practice brings together the physicality of making, the legacies of her people, and the possibility of community transformation.

^{The project: It was our great honor to interview 28 BIPOC individuals in creative careers, in order to support corporate, philanthropic, and policy stakeholders in strategically supporting this ecosystem. Learn more about Erin’s practice here.}