Aspen Carrillo

Hung Mehheshi! I am Aspen Carrillo. I am 22 years old and from Carson City, Nevada. I grew up on the Stewart Indian Reservation and was raised by my hootse (grandma). I now live in Reno, Nevada and go to the University of Nevada, Reno perusing a Master of Fine Arts. I have been an artist since I was little, using it as a way to escape and cope. It’s only been in the past couple years that I’ve began to share my art and the doors that it has opened for me have been life changing.

The title of my piece is “Lehl Lum Deh Pbst” Washoe word for moon. It translates into English to “crawls along at night.” My piece is inspired by what my Aunt Melba told me. Melba Rakow is one of our last fluent Washoe speakers and one of the most important elders we have. She told me that Washoes used the moon to predict the weather. Saying that you can see a woman on the moon with a basket. When the woman is spilling out the basket there will be a storm.