Kianah
North America (Alaska, Dakotas)
& Africa
my name is Kianah Longchase
[Key-aww-nuh]
My divine roots are from North America (Eklutna, Alaska and the Dakotas) & West Africa (American Black).
I identify as Afro-Indigenous.
I was born in Santa Rosa, California and raised in Tesuque, New Mexico.
I have been living in Los Angeles, CA since 2015.
ROOTS
My mom’s peoples are Alaskan Native and Lakota from the Dakotas. My grandparents met at the Institute of American Indian Arts, making me a 2nd generation New Mexican with significant ties to the arctic and the plains.
My father descends from enslaved Africans brought through the Port of New Orleans. I recently learned that our family on my dad’s side moved from the segregated south to Los Angeles as early as the 1920’s, and my great grandfather was a high school state track champion in 1930.
I planted new roots in LA myself. The Great Migration continues to pull so many of us west.
have you visited the land?
Northern New Mexico is the land that fed and nourished me. I go home as often as I can. Locals and visitors can attest to a certain magnetism the state has. I'm not exempt from the effects of it's pull.
do you speak the language?
Unfortunately, due to the effects of generational trauma inflicted by settler-colonialism, my ancestral languages were not taught to me but I'm taking active steps in this lifetime to learn so that I may pass them on.
we shot in Malibu, California — why does that setting feel like home for you?
It's wild sitting at the edge of western civilization. Coming to the beach never loses its novelty as someone raised landlocked. I feel cathartic standing on the beach as if the waves push energetic life back into me, giving me permission to mold my circumstances.
what do you love most about la?
i love living in a global city that allows me to participate in shaping global culture.
I love that it isn't for everybody. It's not an easy place to be despite how beautiful it looks. It requires a certain grit and grace. Living here is a bizarre human experience and I'm doing it while I've got the energy.
what don’t you love about la?
Despite the opportunities that big cities hold, they're unsustainable and at odds with the ideals I purport to identify with.
how has your experience in la affected your worldview?
Sometimes, those of us that are raised in rural places (like many Indigenous people) are made to feel like our skill sets aren’t adaptive to capitalism, big cities, the entertainment industry, etc. I’ve learned to code switch and look for the pattern to open doors. I've learned to value my strengths and perspectives rather than allowing them to become hollow.
I don’t want to be empowered, I have power — I want to go on, and I want my people to go on.
what are examples of intergenerational resilience in your culture?
A friend of mine, afro-indigenous artist Nakisha Breeze, did an exercise of asking ancestors where they can be found in the body. Through immersive practices, she heard them say: "we're in your bones, cartilages, and soft tissues." They can be felt when we dance.
what are examples of intergenerational trauma in your culture?
My family's been afflicted with addiction, loss, and poverty.
On my journey of life and reconnection, I discover more questions than answers.
how do you break the cycle?
I’m the first generation on my mom’s side that’s gotten to step out of survival. I get to live in an embodied way while my creative work is carving away at these tensions and traumas that have resided in my muscles and tendons.
Our spirit remembers what true liberation feels like. I’ve had ancestors who’s movement was restrained. I never want to be restrained. I never want my body to be used for other people.
I wish for us to teach histories. Not history. HISTORIES.
how do you honor your roots / culture?
I listen, practice, reflect, honor, thank, include, and celebrate my ancestors and my spirit for picking up the baton this time around.
Kianah is an Artist, you can explore her work at
@twolipsMUSIC
places in the local community that feel like home:
Honestly...nowhere feels like home. With the world so uncertain, I live each day for itself. So guess my home is me.
people in the online community you are inspired by:
watch Reservation Dogs on Hulu