24 Facts About Arthur Amiotte

Arthur Douglas Amiotte was born on 1942 and is an Oglala Lakota Native American painter, collage artist, educator, and author.

Arthur Amiotte was born on March 25,1942, in Pine Ridge, South Dakota, on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.

Arthur Amiotte was given the name Warpa Tanka Kuciyela or Low Black Bird as an infant, but received his second Lakota name in 1972.

Arthur Amiotte's great-grandfather Standing Bear was at the Battle of Little Big Horn.

Arthur Amiotte lived in the reservation until he was six and then visited it during summers up to the age of 15.

From this encounter, Arthur Amiotte got a concrete example of how a native artist can be a contemporary artist.

Arthur Amiotte received his bachelor's degree in Art and Art Education and was a teacher at Woodrow Wilson Junior High School in Sioux City from 1964 to 1966.

From 1972 to 1981, Arthur Amiotte was influenced by the Lakota medicine man Pete Catches, who introduced Arthur Amiotte to Lakota spirituality and rituals belonging to Lakota traditions.

Arthur Amiotte received his Masters of Interdisciplinary Studies in 1983 from the University of Montana-Missoula.

Arthur Amiotte was professor of Native American art history at Brandon University, Manitoba, but in 1985, he decided to dedicate himself to art and he established his studio in Custer, South Dakota, in 1986.

Arthur Amiotte curated exhibitions about the culture of the tribes on the Great Plains, such as at the Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian in Santa Fe, New Mexico; the Akta Lakota Museum in Chamberlain, South Dakota; the Buffalo Bill Historical Center of Cody, Wyoming; and the Museum of World Cultures of Frankfurt am Main, Germany, in 2006.

In 2004, Arthur Amiotte lectured an Oscar Howe Memorial Lecture.

Arthur Amiotte promotes Lakota rituals and the visionary experiences during the traditional ceremonies find their impact on his artistic work.

Arthur Amiotte defines his work as being bound to the reservation culture which bridges the gap between yesterday and today, a split which is often mastered in an amazing manner.

Arthur Amiotte explores experiences of Lakota people in Europe, during the Wild West show era of the early 20th century.

Arthur Amiotte has participated in over 100 exhibitions, including over 20 solo exhibitions.

Arthur Amiotte has shown throughout the United States and Europe, including at the Kunsthallen Bradts Klaedefabrik in Odense, Denmark in 1994 and 1995.

Arthur Amiotte's work, ranging from painting to sculpture and textile objects, is present in 26 public and about 200 private collections.

Arthur Amiotte's work is included in such public collections as the Denver Art Museum, the Sequoyah National Research Center in Little Rock, Arkansas, the National Museum of Natural History, as well as the following institutions.

Arthur Amiotte frequently lectures at home and abroad and is a published author.

In 1989 Arthur Amiotte wrote with a chapter about Sioux Arts in the important volume, Illustrated History of the Arts in South Dakota, published during the state's centennial.

From 1979 to 1981, Arthur Amiotte served on the Presidential Advisory Council for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC In 1980, he was awarded the South Dakota Governor's Award for Outstanding Creative Achievement in Arts.

That same year, Arthur Amiotte was awarded the Bush Leadership Fellowship, which allowed him to study Northern Plains art collections in the United States and Europe at the University of Montana-Missoula.

Arthur Amiotte holds honorary doctorates from the Oglala Lakota College and the Brandon University, Manitoba.