Laura Youngbird is an artist and art educator. She earned her BS, BFA and MA from Minnesota State University Moorhead with a minor in American Indian Studies. As an undergraduate she worked in the Archeology department as a lab and field assistant. She's an enrolled member of the Minnesota Chippewa, Grand Portage Band. The themes in her work originated from experiences her family and particularly her grandmother had while at boarding schools and issues that surrounded their assimilation into non-Indian culture. Laura also explores the influences of Christianity on American Indian spirituality and life views.