Avalanche Put a Spotlight on Local Artist for Native American Heritage Month

In honor of Native American Heritage Month, the Avalanche worked with Dine’ (Navajo) artist JayCee Beyale to transform an Avs home sweater into an art piece that represents and honors his Indigenous heritage.

This piece was inspired by the creativity and ingenuity of Indigenous People and how “we will take just about anything and make it into something really special,” Beyale said. JayCee took traditions from his Dine’ culture and applied it to the game of hockey, turning the sweater into a piece symbolic of a war shirt, a ceremonial shirt gifted for one’s achievements, that is worn for each battle. As with all his work, JayCee wanted the jersey “to communicate movement and a spiritual presence” so that it takes on a life of its own.

This piece was important to JayCee as it allows him to spotlight Indigenous people and share with the general public “a glimpse of what we as Indigenous people can do with our abilities to inspire change and provide insight with authenticity.” Beyale continued, “Though it's just a jersey to some, I was given a chance to enhance it, give it life and spirit.”

Beyale was raised in the Four Corners of New Mexico, where he attended the University of New Mexico and received his BFA in printmaking. Currently, JayCee resides in Denver, where he is a 2023-2025 Resident Artist at Redline Contemporary Art Center in the RiNo Art District.

His career as an artist began with his discovery of street art and graffiti. Using a combination of spray paints and acrylics, he celebrates the fusion of technology with Indigenous culture, primarily in paintings and murals.

JayCee’s work is deeply influenced by music, while the combination of traditional Indigenous ideologies with his Buddhist practice of Nichiren Buddhism is equally important to his artmaking, through which he strives to illuminate core concepts and convictions: the Laws of Movement, Unity and Impermanence.

To view more of JayCee’s work, you can visit the Redline Contemporary Art Center or follow him on Instagram @jcbl1.