Fawn Douglas puts an urban spin on traditional basketmaking.

Instead of using desert plants, she tightly weaves heavy conduit wire to form the base of a basket she plans to display at the new Wai Gallery in Las Vegas . There, she and her partner, A.B. Wilkinson, showcase pieces from Indigenous artists and host free art programs, from collage projects to sidewalk chalk paintings.

Douglas, a Las Vegas Paiute Tribe citizen, says she sees how art can heal and bring people together.

“They’re off their phones. They’re having actual conversations together,” Douglas said.

The gallery and IndigenousAF storefront dismantle stereotypes, including that Native Americans and Alaska Natives are a monolith and all live on reservations, she said. It opened just ahead of National Native American Heritage Month, which celebrates the diverse histories and cultures of hundreds of tribal communities across the U.S.…