My name is Lynne Hardy, and I am Dine (Navajo.)I am from Grey Mountain, Arizona.I love my Navajo culture, and am grateful for the things I was taught by my parents and my grandmother.I believe my love for art is a gift, and I need to use it to share my culture with others.The stories of my ancestors are powerful, and I want to portray that in the art I create.My style is modern, bright, and colorful, because that is how I view my culture and life living on the reservation:bright and colorful.I try to portray Native American people as authentic as I can.

Growing up, I was always bullied for the way my nose looked, and for my cheekbones.The combination of the two didn’t look good to me because I didn’t look like my peers. It took a long time for me to realize that I look like my grandmother and her grandmother before her, and that they were absolutely beautiful.Through my art, I want to encourage other Native youth struggling with their appearance to know that they do not have to change themselves to fit Western European features.They are beautiful as they are, and that’s what I want to portray in my art.Through my art, I hope to be a voice of change to how Native American cultures are represented.I want to make sure that the cultures are respected and preserved in my own way.

Although my art is bright and colorful, the history of Native Americans is not always bright and colorful.The genocide, assimilation, and colonization of Native Americans in the past and present are not easy topics to talk about.Native American youth know too well the issues and trials of the past, but I feel it is time for all youth to learn and be aware of these issues as they are responsible to learn and fix it.My artwork makes these difficult conversations accessible for children and youth.