About Me

Yá’át’ééh, Shí éí Rye Purvis yinishyé. I am Mountain Cove Clan (Diné) through my Mother and I am bilagáana (Scottish) through my Father.

I was raised in New Mexico and moved to San Francisco in 2007 to attend the San Francisco Art Institute. I graduated with a BFA in Painting in 2011 and have continued to live, work, and create art in and around the Bay Area and back home in New Mexico. I use painting, drawing, printmaking, video and installation to document my surroundings, identity, and observations as a Diné woman navigating urban and rural life. I am currently in Graduate school for Native American Studies as a PhD student. Topics of my research and advocacy include centering Indigeneity in Funerary and Burial rights and support services; Contemporary Native American Art History, and Indigenizing Art Theory. I enjoy both writing and artmaking in my art process. 

I started my website/blog The Navajo Tourist in Fall 2019. The Navajo Tourist blog project paired my art, photography and interests with writing in order to uplift BIPOC Arts and communities, and bring awareness to Native American representation, resources and art & culture.

The project is and was also a dedication to my Mom who inspired me through style, humor, strength and resilience. 

My research and writing includes centering Indigeneity in burial and funerary support, as well as intentionally setting space for healing and grief support. This is important to me because of experiencing my own grief losing my loved ones, and seeing how important connection to community and land is for healing and in reverence. I am currently in school for Funeral Service Education and hope to use my voice and place to respectfully advocate for Indigenous cultural traditions as well as supporting peoples by meeting them where they are at. 

As of July 2022, I have moved on to the project name "Dirt Road Digest" that to me reflects a more broader sense of what I hope to capture in my writings and reflections. Dirt Roads reflect the pathway to home, the warmth of the landscape and a symbol for possibility and strength.