Artist Mural Statement

In the late 19th century, students from the Muscogee (Creek) Nation traveled far from their homes to attend school in Westerville. Their presence reflects a broader national story—one tied to federal Indian education policies and the displacement of Native communities. This chapter of Westerville’s history is often overlooked, yet it speaks to resilience, identity, and the complicated intersections of culture and education during that era.

In the late 1870s, William Apueka and Taylor Chissoe, young Muscogee Creek men from Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, traveled to Central College in Westerville as part of the Mvskoke Nation's Youth-in-the-States program. They came not to assimilate, but to arm their people. The English fluency and civil service skills they gained here became tools of sovereignty, carried home to become a chief and a judge.

It is an honor to tell this Indigenous American story as part of America250.

Native history is not a footnote to this nation's story. It is the ground beneath it.

This mural weaves their journey through Muscogee traditional patterns, the Dawes rolls, historical maps, and the sweet gum leaf, sacred to the Muscogee Nation and a near mirror of Ohio's buckeye.

A reminder of resilience, adaptability, and that home can find you, even far from home.

Artist Bio

Dexter Komakaru is the artist behind DXTROSE, his independent visual arts practice and creative studio rooted in Central Ohio. Since establishing his practice in 2015, Komakaru’s work has been shaped by both his Mexican and Native American identities, and lived experiences in his own lifetime and beyond. His work weaves together visual magic,  multigenerational storytelling, and community organizing into visual art that connects with the spirit and sparks transformation. His work explores art as alchemy, movement meditation, and a transformative process for the individual and collective. Through  community collaborations, grant-funded projects, and his creative practice, he makes  visionary art that honors place, lineage, and the generations of living beings who share it.