Student Staff

Inkpa Mani is an Indigenous Mexican-American artist from Minnesota, specializing in stone sculpture and acrylic painting. Raised in Chihuahua, Mexico, and off the Lake Traverse Reservation in South Dakota, his work is deeply inspired by the landscapes of his upbringing and the people within his community.

 

Currently pursuing an MFA in Painting and Printmaking at the Yale School of Art, Inkpa blends modern techniques with traditional Native American aesthetics to create contemporary pieces that celebrate the beauty and resilience of the modern Indigenous world. His art emphasizes cultural continuity, reflecting the multi-generational traditions of North America that have been passed down for thousands of years.

 

Based in rural Minnesota, Inkpa is currently working on two significant public monument projects: a 90,000-pound stone sculpture in Williamstown, Massachusetts, and a monument commemorating the Whitestone Hill Massacre for the state of North Dakota.

 

Yá’át’ééh! Shi éi Mara yiinshyé. Tódich’íi’nii nishli’, Trinidadian báshíshchiin, Kin Lichii’nii dashicheii, Naakaii Dine’é dashináli. Killeen, Texas dóó nashá. Shimá éi Nadine Thomas-Gutierrez wolyé. Shizhé’é éí Hiram Gutierrez wolyé. Hi! My name is Mara. I am Diné! I’m a senior at Pierson College majoring in History with a concentration in Empires and Colonialism. I am a member of NISAY and Indigiprov, the NACC’s comedic improv group, and Lux Improvitas, another improv group. I love spending time at the NACC and hanging out with everyone there! If you ever need to find me, I will most likely be at the NACC, rehearsal, or in my suite. Outside of classes and extracurriculars, I like to bead, scrapbook, and photoshop myself onto different TV characters and historical paintings!  

ʻAnoʻai ke aloha! My name is Joshua Ching and I’m a Kanaka Maoli junior from Waikele on the island of Oʻahu. Back home in Hawaiʻi, I discovered my passion at the intersection of Native Hawaiian rights movements and local political campaigning. On-campus, these forces ground my advocacy–as the Founding President of the Indigenous Peoples of Oceania at Yale, Co-Director of the New Haven Pardon Program, and Events Co-Coordinator of the Yale Undergraduate Prison Project, I’m interested in community organizing in the pursuit of equity and justice. Coupled with my work as a research assistant for Professor Hiʻilei Hobart and as an intern with the Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation, I hope to continue learning and growing my kuleana to the lāhui, paeʻāina, and honua. In my free time, I love beach hopping, making lei hulu, and doom scrolling on the New York Times.

ʻKylie is a member of the Tsimshian tribe and part of the Eagle Clan. She’s currently a sophomore at Pierson College. She was born in Juneau, Alaska, although she spent most of her life in Ketchikan, Alaska (a small town nearby). Ketchikan is unique because it’s the only town with direct access (by boat) to Metlakatla, Alaska’s only Native Reservation, where a significant portion of her tribe resides. In the future, she hopes to become a secondary school teacher. Her passion for education was deeply influenced by her grandmother, who was a dedicated teacher. Her grandmother flew out on bush planes to reach villages across the state that had limited access to education, spreading knowledge and learning about their cultures. Her grandmother’s remarkable work and commitment to expanding education to rural and native areas inspired her. In her free time, she loves to shop, watch horror movies, and dive into a variety of books. She also has a particular fondness for pizza, especially those with a thick, bready crust—it’s just her favorite! She’s excited about the opportunity to connect with others and hopes to see people around the Native American Cultural Center (NACC).

Henci! Estonko! My name is Seneca Johnson, and I am a junior in Morse College majoring in Environmental Studies. I am from the Mvskoke and Seminole Nations of Oklahoma and grew up in Santa Fe, New Mexico. I come from a community organizing background, primarily with youth and Indigenous communities, working to create a just transition away from fossil fuels in New Mexico. Within the NACC, I’m a member of affiliate organizations NISAY and AISES. In my free time, you can usually find me drawing, fiending for boba, or rewatching Haikyuu.