Buffalo Dreamz (1993) Painting by Michael Lee Willcuts

Michael Lee Willcuts - Sioux Indian Museum Exhibition Biography 1992.
Sans Arc Teton Sioux Minniconjou Lakota (1966- )

Michael Lee Willcuts was born in Los Angeles, California on September 5, 1966.  His Lakota name is Tatanka Woslal Mani, which translates to Buffalo Who Walks Standing Upright / Standing Upright Buffalo / Standing Walking Buffalo.
Willcuts is an enrolled member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe; he belongs to the Minniconjou band of the Lakota Nation.

Willcuts' ancestral lineage includes his great great great-grandfather Red Hair Elk Head, who is/was a Keeper of the Sacred Calf Pipe and whose sister is/was Crazy Horse's mother. His great great great-grandfather is/was a member of the Elk Head Clan. Willcuts' grandmother, Annie Yellowhawk / Elk Head, is the last living member of this clan.

Willcuts is in the vanguard of a new and innovative breed using a now accepted fine art medium, airbrush. He is one of the few Native American visual artists to experiment and develop what was once a tool used primarily in commercial art. Already, Willcuts has polished and mastered a style of razor-sharp clarity with much enthusiasm.

As an artist, Willcuts has participated in notable exhibitions such as the 1990 Ventura Cup Regatta. There, he won a certificate of professional merit for a poster he designed. His work was also included in a one year exhibition at Ventura College. In 1992, Willcuts entered a student design and photography show at Black Hills State University where he also placed second in illustrations.

Willcuts is confident when he says how much he loves his career and sincerely considers his talent a gift from God. He wants to provide everyone with a glimpse into the history of his culture and the spiritual relationship he has with the earth.
Presently, Willcuts live in Rapid City, South Dakota.

• Nationality: UNITED STATES
• Date of birth : 1966
• Artistic domains:
• Groups: Contemporary American Artists