Melanie Yazzie is a Professor of Art and Head of Printmaking at the University of Colorado in Boulder, Colorado. Her works belong to many collections such as: the Anchorage Museum of History & Art, the Art Museum of Missoula, the Institute of American Indian Arts, the Kennedy Museum of Art and the Rhode Island School of Design Museum and many more. She has exhibited nationally and internationally in places such as: Alaska, California, New Mexico, New York, Florida, New Zealand, France, Russia, Canada, Estonia, Northern Ireland, Korea, China, South Africa, United Kingdom, Australia, and Argentina.

Protect Them

So many people go missing and are taken from us without us knowing why. There are so many layers to this problem. The newspaper story in my print gives statistics from 1993 but these same issues still exist in many communities to this day. It is due to these issues that there is self-doubt and a need to search or run away from home that leads many of these people in the hands of others who will harm them. I feel that knowing all these levels could help us see the problems that exist and try to begin to see why these problems persist. There are no answers here but there are some reasons the problems are present. So much of this is not looked at or even spoken of. We need to see the truth and listen when the time comes. Believe in the story that they share with us. Believing, Listening, and Supporting them is huge. The pain is triple when people do not believe the experience of these people from our human communities who are trying to share their truth. Look around and help in the world when you can. Believe in change by acting in ways that make change possible.