Nayah Alvarado, a 21-year-old illustrator, pointed to her artwork, which is not just inspired by anime, streetwear and graffiti, but also by her Indigenous heritage. “Our artwork is an example of us,” Alvarado said. “It’s proof of our existence, and that means everything to me.”Alvarado, part of the Ipai band of the Kumeyaay tribe, discussed her art and heritage at Indigi-Con, now in its third year of connecting Native artists through comics, storytelling and culture. One of the panels at the event, hosted by UC San Diego Park & Market, showcased young and aspiring Indigenous artists, like Alvarado, who discussed their passion for comic art.She revealed the story she’s been working on for the past six years at the panel, saying she “was inspired by our history of colonization. It’s about an oppressor versus its people.”Her protagonist, outcast by society, uses graffiti as a form of expression, but it also unites the community.Alvarado’s father and two younger brothers opened the event with a cultural ritual called “birdsinging,” meshing the sounds of wooden rattlers with song and movement.
Matthew Alvarado, pictured in the middle, commenced Indigi-Con with his two sons through an Indigenous ritual called “birdsinging.” (Photo by Eileen Mamaghani/Times of San Diego)Indigi-Con started as a Comic-Con panel, but with the help of the Indigenous Futures Institute at UC San Diego, an initiative for advancing the goals of the Indigenous community, it has grown into a stand-alone event.Chag Lowry, executive director of the institute, discussed his hopes for the future of Indigi-Con.“The goal is that this is a long-term investment in the community,” Lowry said. “I feel very hopeful that there will be young people that will choose to go into comics after being here and listening.”Lowry said Indigi-Con, which will expand into a three-day event in February, is meant to recognize, unite and celebrate Indigenous artists.Alison Richardson, an Indigenous UCSD graduate, was invited by Lowry to attend Indigi-Con and share the space with other tribes and bands. “I grew up on a reservation, so I’m used to seeing our people in rural areas,” Richardson said. “It’s empowering seeing the two worlds come together.”An artist who helps bring these worlds together is Johnny Bear Contreras, a Kumeyaay sculptor. He helped bring Lowry to Comic-Con; together they formed Indigi-Con.Contreras, who has witnessed the evolution of the event, said he gets emotional seeing something he has put so much work into come to fruition. He said the next generations will carry on the Indigenous conversation.“We want our critical path – our stories – to be told,” Contreras said. “We’re clearing the trail.”
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