FRESNO, Calif. ( KSEE/KGPE ) – For the rest of the month, an art exhibit inside the Fresno Yosemite International Airport will be prominently displayed in recognition of Native American Heritage Month to encourage a deeper understanding of Native American culture and history.
Fresno artist James Martin portrays Indigenous culture, pulling inspiration from local elders and Native issues he says the Native community is familiar with, though everyone in Fresno may not be.
“I think so many people, when they think of Native American people, they think of us in the past, but we’re still here today and we have current struggles,” said Martin.
Martin is a tribal member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, he says he and his brother, Bobby Von Martin, are the only Choctaw artists in Fresno.
Martin says his work has been displayed throughout Fresno, which is an inspiration to him being that his art has always served as an outlet for his struggles growing up.
“When we were kids, we were in a really rough situation, there was a lot of violence, drug use, alcoholism, which is common, unfortunately, in Native communities, we would just take our drawings as a way to escape, and in a way to cope with what we were going through.”