The Autry Museum's Future Imaginaries exhibit brings together works from indigenous artists to reimagine science fiction characters and storylines.

In this story, from PBS News student reporting labs, two native artists, Mercedes-Dorame and Angelica Trimble Yanu met at the museum to discuss their own work and how contemporary native artists

draw upon their culture and connections to envision the future.

I worked with the camera a lot, but it wasn't really until I shifted into using it in different ways that I began my art practice.

And that shift really was around looking at some of my

experience as a Tongba person my family's experience going up in Los Angeles what

that meant you know to be in a place that was really you know trying to erase your

ancestral presence so I am a citizen of the Aguala Lakota Nation.

I was born and raised in Oakland, California,

and I was actually adopted out of the reservation as a child.

So I was raised apart from my Lakota family.

We're here to talk about this exhibition at the ACHI Museum.

What I am interested in doing is creating a permanent record of indigenous presence in Los Angeles.

If I only work in black, white, yellow, and red, it's a way for me to honor my ancestral's language through color.

I always feel like I'm tying back into my ancestral knowledge, practice, and I need that to go forward.

There's been this, like, surgence of genuine authenticity, like, within these spaces.

And there's more openness around what Native Art can look like

versus what it should look like.

I don't know if you've dealt with this, but this idea of, like, authenticity

and what is authentic.

And people want you to go into, like like a past tense place to be authentic.

I hope that people come away from my work curious, wanting to know more, and also understanding

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