Artist Statement

The center of this mural features a tipi and its reflection above, creating the Dakota symbol of two reflected triangles known as Kapemni (mirroring) which represents the philosophy that what happens below is reflected above and vice versa. The green stripes are symbols of the earth and physical world, the blue stripes symbols of the sky and spirit world: the 7 Dakota stars represent the Oceti Sakowin (the 7 star fire nations consisting of Dakota and Lakota people) whose homelands Bloomington is built upon.

According to Dakota star knowledge, We believe We come from the stars and Bdote, the confluence of the Minnesota and Mississippi rivers near Bloomington, is the place of origin for Dakota people and where the Kapemni (mirroring) is strongest. Dakota people buried their dead often along the Mississippi River, as that is reflected above us as the Milky Way, the spirit road that we travel in the afterlife according to Dakota beliefs. In Bloomington, Mound Springs Park features a number of such mounds and included more, which were destroyed in recent times such as the Lincoln Burial Mounds (destroyed for the construction of the Bloomington Central Station).

As a metaphor, Bdote can also represent the meeting of people and the horizontal colors along the sides represents all the people today who come together to create our current society here in the Twin Cities metropolitan area.

Marlena Myles is a self-taught Native American (Spirit Lake Dakota/Mohegan/Muscogee) artist located in St Paul, Minnesota. Her art brings modernity to indigenous history, languages and oral traditions. Growing up on her traditional Dakota homelands here in the Twin Cities, she enjoys using her artwork to teach Minnesotans of all backgrounds the indigenous history of this place we call home. Her professional work includes children’s books, fabrics, animations and fine art in galleries such as the Minneapolis Institute of Art, The Museum of Russian Art, Red Cloud Heritage Center and the Minnesota Museum of American Art to name a few. In 2021, she opened her own Dakota publishing company called Wíyouŋkihipi (We Are Capable) Productions to create a wider platform that educates and honors the culture, language and history of Dakota people. *Photo courtesy of Marlena Myles.

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