Keith BraveHeart

Keith BraveHeart grew up on the Pine Ridge reservation, in the community of Medicine Root (Pejuta Haka), in Kyle, South Dakota. He is a citizen of the Oglala Lakota Oyate. He developed a passion for art in high school. From there, he went to the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, NM, where he received his bachelor’s degree. He received his Master of Fine Art in Painting at the   University of South Dakota, Vermillion, SD.

BraveHeart calls himself a contemporary or modern native artist. His art takes a strong influence from his American Indian cultural background. It is important for him to see what happens during the artistic process, leaving it open for things to shift or change around, allowing time for change to happen.

He is an advocate for contemporary American Indian art and community-engaged arts.  He has been a voice in Native Arts education as both a student and instructor for twenty years.  He currently is an art instructor at Oglala Lakota College, Kyle, South Dakota.