Windy City Navajo is the studio and signature of Michael R.L. Begay, a Diné and Santo Domingo Pueblo artist whose practice merges ancestral tradition with contemporary Indigenous expression.

Raised in Chicago — the result of his family’s relocation under the U.S. Indian Relocation Act — Begay channels his urban upbringing into deeply ceremonial work. Through the lens of Windy City Navajo, he creates museum-worthy regalia, porcupine quillwork, and visual narratives that honor heritage while engaging with the present.

His art lives at the intersection of cultural preservation and forward motion — each piece crafted not only as adornment, but as a living archive of movement, memory, and tradition.

Quill by quill, fringe by fringe, Windy City Navajo offers work that is both wearable and sacred, with a sculptural quality in its storytelling. Collected, exhibited, and danced — this is not merely fashion or craft.
It is contemporary Indigenous art in its most sovereign form.