From the artist, Diego Medina:

Stars were some of the first maps used by indigenous people in the southwestern United States. Tracking the celestial movements in order to create a more organized calendrical system became essential to cultural lifeways, and the practice became deeply embedded into the aesthetic tradition of many communities. One of the primary timekeeping symbols brought into service by regional indigenous communities was that of the relationship between ursa major and cassiopeia around the north star. This phenomenon is, of course, an effective seasonal indicator, and thusly became central to many stories woven into oral traditional. For the main image of the mural, I want to depict the different seasonal positions of this celestial triad, alongside corresponding cultural iconography. Ssince there are multiple wall surfaces to expand this mural onto, additional imagery will be painted related to correspondences between northern hemisphere celestial formations and
regional aesthetics.

The plan is to also make this project community oriented, and invite in additional artist collaborators to come and help bring this mural into the world. The important goal of this mural is to connect the work the Astronomy Department is doing to systems of knowledge utilized by indigenous people, celebrate living cultures, and create
cross-departmental relationships.

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This page is currently under construction! Please keep checking back for more information! In the mean time please enjoy the following two videos: