Colleen Cutschall, (born 1951) also known as Sister Wolf, is an

Oglala The Oglala (pronounced , meaning "to scatter one's own" in Lakota language) are one of the seven subtribes of the Lakota people who, along with the Dakota, make up the Očhéthi Šakówiŋ (Seven Council Fires). A majority of the Oglala live o ...

- Sicangu Lakota artist from Pine Ridge,

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota people, Lakota and Dakota peo ...

, who works in

Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...

Biography

Colleen Cutschall is a Lakota artist, art historian, educator, writer, activist, and curator from Pine Ridge, South Dakota, who has lived and worked in Southwestern

since the 1980s. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from

Barat College Barat College of the Sacred Heart was a small Catholic college located in Lake Forest, Illinois, north of Chicago. The college was named after Madeleine Sophie Barat, founder of the Society of the Sacred Heart. Barat College was purchased by De ...

and an Master of Education from

Black Hills State University Black Hills State University (BHSU) is a public university in Spearfish, South Dakota. Close to 4,000 students attend classes at its campus in Spearfish, at sites in Rapid City and Pierre, and through distance offerings. Enrollment comes from ...

. Cutschall works in

Painting Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ...

Sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

Photography Photography is the art, application, and practice of creating durable images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is employed ...

, and

Installation art Installation art is an artistic genre of three-dimensional works that are often site-specific and designed to transform the perception of a space. Generally, the term is applied to interior spaces, whereas exterior interventions are often called ...

. Some themes of her work include Lakota mythological archetypes, human relationships to the cosmos, and the implications of exploration. Her work is described as being flexible and situational and incorporating elements of anthropology, feminism, natural sciences, and cultural identity. Colleen Cutschall's work is in the permanent collection of the

Manitoba Arts Council , type = Council , formed = 1965 , headquarters = 525 – 93 Lombard Ave, Winnipeg, MB R3B 3B1 , budget = $10.2 m CAD (2020) , chief1_name = Roberta Christianson , chief1_position = Chair , chief2_name = Randy Joynt , chief2_position = Exec ...

Art Bank, the

Canada Council The Canada Council for the Arts (french: Conseil des arts du Canada), commonly called the Canada Council, is a Crown corporation established in 1957 as an arts council of the Government of Canada. It acts as the federal government's principal i ...

Art Bank, the Government of Manitoba,

Thunder Bay Art Gallery The Thunder Bay Art Gallery is Northern Ontario's largest art gallery specializing in the work of contemporary Indigenous artists. It is located on the campus of Confederation College in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada. The Thunder Bay Art Gallery is ...

, Kenderdine Art Gallery,

MacKenzie Art Gallery The MacKenzie Art Gallery (MAG; french: Musee d’art MacKenzie) is an art museum located in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. The museum occupies the multipurpose T. C. Douglas Building, situated at the edge of the Wascana Centre. The building holds e ...

, Oscar Howe Art Center, and the

Winnipeg Art Gallery The Winnipeg Art Gallery (WAG) is an art museum in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Its permanent collection includes over 24,000 works from Canadian, Indigenous Canadian, and international artists. The museum also holds the world's largest collect ...

. Cutschall is known for designing the sculpture Spirit Warriors, installed at

Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument preserves the site of the June 25 and 26, 1876, Battle of the Little Bighorn, near Crow Agency, Montana, in the United States. It also serves as a memorial to those who fought in the battle: George Arm ...

. This iron sculpture at the

, which was until 1991 named after

George Custer George Armstrong Custer (December 5, 1839 – June 25, 1876) was a United States Army officer and cavalry commander in the American Civil War and the American Indian Wars. Custer graduated from West Point in 1861 at the bottom of his class, b ...

, United States Commander in the

American Indian Wars The American Indian Wars, also known as the American Frontier Wars, and the Indian Wars, were fought by European governments and colonists in North America, and later by the United States and Canadian governments and American and Canadian settle ...

. Cutschall's sculpture commemorates Native American warriors in the

Great Sioux War of 1876 The Great Sioux War of 1876, also known as the Black Hills War, was a series of battles and negotiations that occurred in 1876 and 1877 in an alliance of Lakota Sioux and Northern Cheyenne against the United States. The cause of the war was the ...

University career

In addition to maintaining her studio practice, Colleen Cutschall is Professor Emerita at

Brandon University Brandon University is a university located in the city of Brandon, Manitoba, Canada, with an enrollment of 3375 (2020) full-time and part-time undergraduate and graduate students. The current location was founded on July 13, 1899, as Brandon Co ...

. After over twenty years of teaching at

in the Department of Native Studies, she founded the Department of Visual and Aboriginal Art.

Significant exhibitions

* "Voices in the Blood,"

Art Gallery of Southwestern Manitoba The Art Gallery of Southwestern Manitoba (AGSM) is a contemporary art museum in Brandon, Manitoba. Founded in 1907 as the Brandon Art Club, the AGSM is the oldest centre for visual art in Manitoba and one of the first in Canada. As a not-for-p ...

, 1990. Toured to the Oscar Howe Art Center, Dakota Gallery; Minnesota State University, South Dakota; the

Art Gallery of Mississauga The Art Gallery of Mississauga (AGM) is a public, not-for-profit art gallery in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. It is located at the Mississauga Civic Centre right on Celebration Square across from Square One Mall. The Gallery is open six days per ...

; the

; and more. * "Sister Wolf in Her Moon,"

, 1995. * "House Made of Stars,"

, 1996. * "Identity By Design: Tradition, Change and Celebration in Native Women's Dresses," March 24, 2007 - August 3, 2008,

National Museum of the American Indian The National Museum of the American Indian is a museum in the United States devoted to the culture of the indigenous peoples of the Americas. It is part of the Smithsonian Institution group of museums and research centers. The museum has three ...

, Washington, D.C.; and September 26, 2008 - February 7, 2010, National Museum of the American Indian, New York, NY, at the

George Gustav Heye Center The National Museum of the American Indian–New York, the George Gustav Heye Center, is a branch of the National Museum of the American Indian at the Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House in Manhattan, New York City. The museum is part of the Smi ...

. Colleen Cutschall also wrote a chapter, ''Dress, Designers, and the Dance of Life'', for a book which accompanied the exhibition. *"….Dies Again!,
Urban Shaman
May 27, 2005 - July 2, 2005, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cutschall, Colleen Canadian women artists First Nations artists 1951 births Living people Oglala people Native American women artists American emigrants to Canada Black Hills State University alumni Academic staff of Brandon University Native American artists American women academics