A lot of public art, in particular a lot of the murals in Anchorage, a lot of them are

not local and most of them are not by people of color or representing people of color.

There are some that are representing, that are depicting indigenous people, but it's not

painted by an indigenous person or inclusive indigenous people. And I'm not here to beat up on any

any other artist, but there's a definite lack of representation of indigenous people.

And it's really important that we're given a space to tell our story. This is our story. This is

our art. And this is our land. We should have a right to be the ones to tell our story. And so

when I say, indigenizing a space, indigenizing, I mean giving a platform for indigenous artists to

step up and start creating and telling our own story. That was artist Crystal Whirl, and she's

fresh off of two big projects, a mural in downtown Anchorage and a commission for Google.

The mural depicts and applies traditional Alaska Native traditions and symbols. The

formline art of the clink it, Highta and Simchan for example, it's 120 feet long, the longest

thing she's ever designed. The Google skin titled primary Ravens depicts Ravens, which represent

the creator and are always playing tricks. What she likes most about these pieces is that they're

public. They don't belong to just one person. They belong to the communities that they were made for.

So anyone has access to them. Both designs utilize traditional and modern techniques,

something Crystal makes a point of combining in her work, and they're part of a larger idea to

indigenize public spaces. Crystal says that having her murals displayed downtown is significant,

because that's where people come together. It's where locals hang out, do business, have dinner,

and it's where visitors are often introduced to Alaska. In many ways, art helps us understand a city,

the land, and the history of both. She says that the art of formline can help us understand the

future of Alaska. It can help us visualize and plan for the future of a state that reflects our

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