water color, colored pencil, marker, ink; 16×20″
“I have a personal connection with this topic, it means a lot to me for everyone to have the same rights with their culture as everyone else does. Not giving someone the right to experience their culture and how they want to live goes against many things, not just lawfully, but also morally. It made me realize issues that no one had been paying attention to or didn’t feel the need to bring up. I’m hoping researching this topic and sharing it with other peers will educate them more thoroughly on this issue and want to make people step up and make a change, the Federal Indian Land Trust System. I shared this topic because I am passionate about bringing change to this issue, being connected to it personally and by feeling empathy towards those who suffer from this issue as well. I know discrimination is something almost everyone has gone through, so that means we can all feel more connected on a personal level. No one should have to be told where they can live and can’t live, what culture they can be in, and be discriminated against. This issue may not be a popular one, but it should never go unnoticed. Treating everyone equally is something no one should have to fight over.
ARTIST BIO: Madison Faulkner is a grade 11 student at Butler Tech School of Art studying art under art teacher Mary Catherine Ruby.