IllumiNative commissioned the artwork to support ambitious voter registration drive.
IllumiNative, the Native Women-led organization committed to amplifying contemporary Native voices, stories, and issues to advance justice, equity, and self-determination, is launching an ambitious voter registration drive with the help of renowned Indigenous artist Ernesto Yerena Montejano — and Paulina Alexis, star of the critically acclaimed TV series Reservation Dogs.
Montejano’s artwork — featuring bold imagery of Alexis in her role as the formidable and resourceful Wilhelmina “Willie Jack” Jacqueline — will be the logo for IllumiNative’s Natives Vote campaign swag, posters, t-shirts, stickers, and up-to-date voter information materials. It was commissioned, according to an Illuminative spokesperson, because characters like Willie Jack convey the strength of Native stories, and TV series like Reservation Dogs and Rutherford Falls represent major strides in authentic Native representation.
“Willie Jack represents an Indigenous movement happening within pop culture and Indian Country,” Montejano says. “It is not often that Indigenous peoples can say they see themselves in someone on TV, but Willie Jack's rawness, skepticism, and unapologetic approach to life make her layered, which myself — and this community as a whole — can relate to. She navigates the world through her culture and love for the people around her. Others are just experiencing this complexity within Indigenous communities for the first time, and they’re also just experiencing just how funny our people truly are. This type of representation is power for our people, and when this community mobilizes, it truly can’t be tamed.”
You can find more information about the Natives Vote campaign here.
