Their upbringing in traditional Native American culture brought them to understand "the sacredness of land" and "the importance of intergenerational knowledge", two ideas in which they have claimed as major influences for their advocacy and artwork.
They felt the pressure of needing to conform to Western societal ideals which they have termed as a form of "White Supremacist Capitalist Heteropatriarchial Colonization".
[10] From these perspectives, DinéYazhi' began to explore the political ideologies and identities of 'Radical Indigenous Queer Feminism' that challenged the ideas of white supremacy and heteronormative patriarchy, especially in the field of contemporary art.
The exhibition session consisted of a display of artworks, informational panel discussions, and interactive workshops that emphasized the narratives and histories of various Indigenous communities.
The zine was created to put attention upon the narratives of queer and trans people of color, as well as individuals of the Indigenous Two Spirit communities, through the medias of visual art, literature, personal essays, and interviews.
The usage of the Native American reservation map was to represent and remind the audience of the colonial exploitation of Indigenous homelands inflicted by white settlers.
The piece on the left side is entitled KA-HA-TENI KAY-YAH and consists of dirt that originates from Diné Bikéyah, the land in which DinéYazhi''s maternal grandparents are from.
On the contrary, the piece of the right is entitled KAY-YAH CAH-DA-KHI TA-GAID AH-CHANH and consists of mined coal that also originates from Diné Bikéyah, the land of DinéYazhi''s ancestry.
They are advocating for environmental justice and Indigenous sovereignty through critiquing the deleterious effects of state interference with the land owned by the Native people.
DinéYazhi' claims that the focus of HIV/AIDS should not be on impoverished and isolated Indigenous groups; rather, the emphasis should be on identifying white colonialism as the source and distributor of the disease internationally.
On the windows of the gallery, he inputted with all-capitalized, bold, red text: "A NATION IS A MASSACRE" and "THE DETAILS ARE GRUESOME & AMERICAN & AS PATRIOTIC AS GUN VIOLENCE & RAPE & MASS MURDER.
The first one spells out part of the title of the work, “We must stop imagining destruction + extraction deforestation + cages + torture + displacement + surveillance + genocide".
Regarding the award, the jury gives a commentary on their decision and analysis of DinéYazhi''s work:"We are compelled by the way Demian complicates dominant queer narratives and understandings of indigeneity.
It is a collection of their poems from the years ranging from 2009 to 2016, and it addresses the issues and complications that marginalized Indigenous and queer communities face in a modern, post-colonial society.
It was written to enlighten the Indigenous and queer communities by celebrating their culture and tradition while critiquing the violence and oppression they face in a post-colonial society.
[3] Though the book was published in 2018, DinéYazhi' first began to write An Infected Sunset in 2016 in response to the Pulse Nightclub shooting, police brutality against black men, the Standing Rock and Dakota Pipeline protests, the inauguration of President Donald Trump, and the abrupt resurgence of white supremacy.
Essentially, An Infected Sunset was written to serve as a motivational call to the Indigenous communities that strive for survivance and unity in the midst of the heightened corruption in the United States.
According to DinéYazhi', it "is a reflection on queer sex, survival/death politics, indigenous identity, settler and heteronormative romanticism, environmental injustice, and the importance of honoring community.