Museum of the Rockies unveils new mural by Indigenous artists

BOZEMAN - Montana State University's Museum of the Rockies has unveiled its new lobby mural, a piece titled "All My Relations in All Four Directions" that was painted by three Indigenous female artists from the Wind River Indian Reservation in Wyoming: Talissa Abeyta, Colleen Friday and Adrienne Vetter.

Abeyta is an Eastern Shoshone contemporary ledger artist whose work incorporates Native cultural imagery and storytelling. Friday, a Northern Arapaho artist with a background in science, draws inspiration from the beadwork traditions she learned from her mother. Vetter, an artist and educator, contributed her previous experience with public murals and collaborative projects.

Together, the artists created a mural that blends Indigenous traditions with contemporary techniques. Museum patrons were able to watch the mural progress in real time over several weeks while the artists worked.

The mural is painted onto six curved ceiling panels, depicting a gradient sun, sunset, dusk and moon, creating a continuous day overhead. The second layer of imagery includes geometric shapes inspired by traditional Arapaho beadwork, accented with gold leaf. The painting also features mountains, pathsand stars. Abeyta called it "a narrative that ties us all together globally. We all relate under one sky."

The mural honors Indigenous celestial cartography. The North Star and Big Dipper are visible in four different positions, depicting seasons, times of year and placement across the skies. Repeated across the center is the morning star, an important symbol in many Native traditions that is often associated with balance, orientation and connection to the world.

"I'm not sure if everyone on Earth sees the exact same constellations, but the ones [who live] on the same latitude as us do, even on the other side of the world," said Vetter. "I think that's pretty cool."