Whether student assignments at Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) or professional commissions from the Chickasaw Nation, Lauren John incorporates her Chickasaw heritage into all that she does. Her first project for the Chickasaw Nation was illustrating Rosetta Stone traditional stories and she is now working on a series of traditional stories in print for children. "I think it's important to just write down the stories because they've been passed down orally for so long that things are bound to get lost and changed over time," she says. "I feel like having everything just written down in one place will help preserve them for much longer."

Lauren's grandmother, Pauline Brown (1931-2022), continues to be a source of inspiration for the artist. "She told me a lot about the traditional stories from our tribes and a lot about growing up in a very different era and tribe that we know today," says Lauren. Through her work, Lauren hopes to carry on Pauline's influence by using her artistic voice to continue preserving the Chickasaw culture for those who come after her.