Montana State University’s Museum of the Rockies unveiled a new lobby mural titled “All My Relations in All Four Directions” on Mar. 24, painted by three Indigenous female artists from Wyoming’s Wind River Indian Reservation: Talissa Abeyta, Colleen Friday and Adrienne Vetter.
The mural represents a blend of Indigenous traditions and contemporary art techniques, offering museum visitors an opportunity to observe its creation over several weeks. This project highlights both artistic collaboration and cultural storytelling.
Abeyta is known for her Eastern Shoshone ledger art that incorporates Native imagery. Friday draws on Northern Arapaho beadwork traditions passed down from her mother, while Vetter brings experience with public murals and collaborative projects. The piece spans six curved ceiling panels depicting transitions from sun to moon across a day, accented with geometric patterns inspired by Arapaho beadwork and gold leaf. Mountains, paths and stars are also featured in the painting. Abeyta said it is “a narrative that ties us all together globally. We all relate under one sky.”
The mural honors Indigenous celestial cartography by featuring the North Star and Big Dipper in various positions to represent seasons and times of year, along with repeated images of the morning star—a symbol important for balance and orientation in many Native cultures. Vetter said, “I’m not sure if everyone on Earth sees the exact same constellations, but the ones [who live] on the same latitude as us do, even on the other side of the world… I think that’s pretty cool.”
Montana State University operates as Montana’s land-grant institution focused on research, education and community outreach according to its official website. The university leads in research funding within Montana with annual expenditures exceeding $288 million according to its official website, enrolls about 17,165 students evenly split between residents and nonresidents according to its official website, ranks among the top five percent of global universities per Center for World University Rankings according to its official website, contributes through volunteer efforts aimed at enhancing lives according to its official website, provides access to outdoor recreation amid vast wilderness according to its official website ,and extends influence beyond state borders as Montana’s land-grant institution according to its official website.
The addition of this mural reflects ongoing efforts at Montana State University’s Museum of the Rockies to celebrate cultural diversity through art while connecting communities locally and globally.