By Julie Gallant / Ramona Sentinel / Feb. 3, 2021
The next mural to be showcased in Ramona will be a tribute to the Kumeyaay Native Americans. And if artist Simon Melnyk stays true to his ambitions, it will be an historically accurate rendition that celebrates how the tribe lived in harmony with nature for so many years.
Melnyk is just getting started on the 1,200-square-foot mural that will take up about two-thirds of the blank canvas on the Verizon building at 1530 Main St.
“Their history is very long and rich and has also included a lot of hardships and atrocities that can’t be ignored,” said Melnyk, an Ocean Beach resident, about the Kumeyaay. “Here I am in the 21st century paying tribute to … the original artists of the area.”
To prepare for the mural, Melnyk has done extensive research on the Kumeyaay, delving into their past at the Barona Cultural Center & Museum. The Kumeyaay people, also known as Tipai-Ipai, have lived throughout the border area in San Diego and Imperial counties and Baja California, Mexico, for more than 12,000 years.
The mural design is still a work in progress, but Melnyk said it will incorporate the Kumeyaay’s dancing, costumes and rock art. He’s drawing inspiration from petroglyphs and substitutes for a written language: art, songs, storytelling and dance.
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