An enrolled member of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe in the Dakotas, S. D. Nelson is descended from Norse and American Indian heritage. He is the author and illustrator of numerous award-winning children’s books inspired by his Great Plains heritage, including Black Elk’s Vision, The Star People, and the middle-grade nonfiction book Crazy Horse and Custer: Born Enemies. His books have received the American Indian Library Association Honor Book Award, the Spur Award from the Western Writers of America, and the American Library Association Notable Book Award. Nelson has lectured at the National Museum of the American Indian/Smithsonian in Washington, DC, and has presented the keynote address for Read North Dakota. The artist’s paintings are held in many permanent collections including the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington DC, the National Museum of the Marine Corps in VA, Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument in MT, the Crazy Horse Monument in SD, and the State Historical Societies of South Dakota, North Dakota, and Minnesota. Combined with the stories he tells Nelson’s art reveals the richness and depth of Lakota life. He creates with acrylic paint which he brushes, sponges, splatters, and sprays. His artwork offers a contemporary interpretation of traditional Lakota imagery.
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