Can comics help revive Native American languages, song, and sequential art by providing a platform for cultural bearers and knowledge keepers to share customs and traditions? Panelists explore that question through the upcoming Kumeyaay-language comic Iipay + Tiipay Aa—The People's Voice: How Language Connects Our People and Shuuluk Wechuwvi—Where Lightning Was Born, which uses the Kumeyaay creation story to support revitalization of the Tijuana River Valley through a trinational lens. The discussion considers how Indigenous knowledge can carry forward the languages, songs, and sequential art of Turtle Island, long vital forms of communication in Native communities. Featuring Dr. Zulema Reynoso (comic artivist and educator), Johnny Bear Contreras (Kumeyaay sculptor, culture bearer, and founder, the Eyaay Ahuun Foundation), Nicholas Smith (Kumeyaay; founder, 'Iipay Aa Language Preservation Project), Laurie Gonzalez (Payomkawichum/Luiseno; Rincon Tribal Council), Priscilla Ortiz-LaChappa ('Iipay Nation of Santa Ysabel; 2022–2023 Miss Kumeyaay Nation), Matthew Alvarado (Kumeyaay; founder, Nu Ancients), and Eugene Braverock (Canadian Blackfoot actor and stuntman, Wonder Woman, Dark Winds; founder, the Oki Language Project).
