Meet the Artist: Debra Yepa-Pappan

Debra Yepa-Pappan (Jemez Pueblo/Korean) is a visual artist of international acclaim. Her multimedia practice combines digital collage and photography. Her work centers on themes about her mixed-race identity that incorporates symbolic imagery influenced by her cultures on the urban environment. She is committed to changin inaccurate representations of Native people and advocates for the inclusion of Native first voices and perspectives. Yepa-Pappan and the other founding members of the Center for Native Futures came together during the pandemic to make space for a perpetual Native presence in the city of Zhegagoynak (Chicago). The founding members have a combined twenty years of working within the arts community and have all nurtured relationships with tribal communities, Indigenous organizations, galleries, public art spaces, and Indigenous spaces. The Center for Native Futures is the only all-Native artist-led arts non-profit organization in Zhegagonak that promotes the advancement of Native fine arts, fosters contemporary artists, and encourages Indigenous Futurists.