Artwork copyright Naomi Parker. Photo courtesy of Washington State Arts Commission, by Jenny Shadley, 2025.

Artwork copyright Naomi Parker. Photo courtesy of Washington State Arts Commission, by Jenny Shadley, 2025.

Artwork copyright Naomi Parker. Photo courtesy of Washington State Arts Commission, by Jenny Shadley, 2025.

Youth Conference, 2023

Naomi Parker
Makah (born 1983)

Location: Mountain View High School, Vancouver

About the Artwork

Youth Conference by Naomi Parker shows how traditions are taught and passed down through generations. The painting shows a group of Makah women wearing robes and sharing their songs and dances with children at a youth conference. The women provide guidance and support as a young grand-daughter dances beside her grandmother and aunties. 

This artwork was acquired for the State Art Collection in partnership with Evergreen School District.

About the Artist

Naomi Parker is Yakama and Chippewa/Cree (of Rocky Boy), and an enrolled member of the Makah Nation. She is a graphic designer and visual artist based in Tacoma, Western Washington, mainly focusing on oil painting, quilting, and beading. Parker attended the graphic design program at the Seattle Central Creative Academy and earned a degree in Interdisciplinary Visual Arts from the University of Washington.