Marlena Myles, Revisiting Indigenous Reality
Bruce Vento Nature Sanctuary, MN
AR Dakota Landmap of the Twin Cities

Revisiting an Indigenous Reality (Twin Cities) expands upon Marlena Myles’s popular resource the Dakota Landmap of the Twin Cities to create augmented reality public art installations which will honor, educate and connect visitors to Dakota history, culture and significance of each location. These AR activations reimagine a Dakota Minnesota that is invisible at the moment to many, yet will be revealed through futuristic technology. 

Locations include Bdóte (confluence of the Minnesota & Mississippi Rivers), Fort Snelling, Oȟéyawahe (Pilot Knob), Uŋči Makha Park (Highland Bridge development), Minnehaha Falls, Mniówe Sní (Cold Water Springs)

Marlena Myles is a self-taught Native American (Spirit Lake Dakota/Mohegan/Muscogee) artist located in St Paul, Minnesota. Her art brings modernity to indigenous history, languages and oral traditions. Growing up on her traditional Dakota homelands here in the Twin Cities, she enjoys using her artwork to teach Minnesotans of all backgrounds the indigenous history of this place we call home.

Her professional work includes children’s books, fabrics, animations and has shown her fine art in galleries such as the Minneapolis Institute of Art, The Museum of Russian Art, Red Cloud Heritage Center and the Minnesota Museum of American Art to name a few. Her first permanent site-specific augmented reality public art installation known as the Dakota Spirit Walk is available on the Revelo AR app.

In 2021, she opened her own Dakota publishing company called Wíyouŋkihipi (We Are Capable) Productions to create a wider platform that educates and honors the culture, language and history of Dakota people.