“There’s nothing more special than you.”

Derek No-Sun Brown is Shoshone-Bannock from Fort Hall, Idaho, and Bois Forte Anishinaabe on his paternal side. He turned to art early, because no matter what was happening in his life, the page and the pen always remained the same.

This story visits War Medicine Studios in Espanola, New Mexico, to share how Brown’s work has evolved over the years, especially after the birth of his daughter, toward depictions of culture, women, children, and family. He prefers messy, imperfect, alive work over polished perfection. His apparel company is built so that Native people feel inspired and protected when they wear it. War Medicine is also moving into public art, including stone, marble, and alabaster sculpture, expanding what Indigenous art looks like in shared spaces.