Eileen’s mother is Maria Cruz, her grandmother is Eloisa, and her great grandmother is Ysidora, matriarchs of the Ñätho (Otomi Peoples of Michoacan/Guanajuato, Mexico). As an IndigiQueer leader, community member, educator and as an artist, everything she does and creates is influenced by her many intersecting identities and lived experiences.

Eileen uses printmaking and mixed-media techniques to develop her own ways of telling stories in the complex layers that they exist in, as well as to demonstrate the ways that we are connected to the Land and to each other. In her current body of work, she focuses on the embodiment of the divine that is manifested through our bodies and our hands specifically. In her work, you will also see her commitment to centering the stories of joy that flow through our communities.

vision statement:

As an Indigenous leader, community member, and as an artist, everything I do and create is influenced by my many intersecting identities and lived experiences. I create the art, the structures, the programming and the educational experiences I wish my community and I would have seen and had access to as a girl from the 'hood. My leadership is grounded in community and specifically, I believe it is my role to continue to show up, disrupt the dominant narrative, and gain access to institutional resources to share them with my community. My family’s stories, values, theories and practices keep me feeling whole throughout this process and I find support in my community through community care.