Agate Fossil Beds National Monument

Genevieve Bluebird, an enrolled member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, creates paintings that depict powerful images of Native American woman and traditional aspects of Lakota Sioux culture.  Born in Pine Ridge, South Dakota, Bluebird is a graduate of Flandreau Indian School. She went on to attend the Art Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA), Santa Fe, New Mexico, as well as the United Tribes Technical College, Bismarck, North Dakota.  Bluebird currently lives in Rough Rock, Arizona, with her family. 

Art has been a part of Bluebird’s life since childhood.  While she learned the fundamental techniques of painting as a student at IAIA, she continued to develop as an artist through self-teaching and experimentation. 

Bluebird’s artwork is inspired by her studies of American Indian History and Lakota oral traditions.  Working primarily in acrylic paints, she creates realistic portraits of Native Americans.  These paintings often feature imagery of traditional Lakota life and spirituality.  Images of strong and positive female figures are a recurring theme in her work. Bluebird hopes that her art will inspire younger generations of tribal members to reconnect with their cultural values and beliefs in order to overcome the hardships  they face in contemporary society.

During her program, Ms. Bluebird demonstrates her artistic creative process and will have an array of art for sale. 

Marty Two Bulls Jr. is scheduled to present “Winter Counts” at Agate Fossil Beds National Monument on Saturday, August 29th at 1:00 pm inside the Agate Fossil Beds National Monument Visitor Center. Join Two Bulls as he discusses his career and art practice including his artist residency at the Sanford Underground Research Facility, his service as an artist laureate for the Oglala Sioux Tribe, and the Winter Count that he helped his tribe create.

Marty Two Bulls Jr. is an artist and educator based in Rapid City, SD. Two Bulls is an enrolled member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe and was raised in the high plains of South Dakota. Two Bulls comes from a family of diverse artists. His father, Marty Two Bulls Sr., is an accomplished artist and was Two Bulls’ first art instructor. Two Bulls grew up in his father’s studio where he learned the fundamentals of sculpture, illustration, graphic design and most importantly how to make a living as a creative person. Two Bulls eventually went on to study printmaking and ceramics at The Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, NM where he earned a Bachelors in Fine Arts in 2011. After graduation, Two Bulls spent several years in Santa Fe developing his art practice and working in contemporary art galleries where he worked with a plethora of contemporary artists from around the world. In 2017, Two Bulls returned home to South Dakota to teach art at Oglala Lakota College where he created a successful Graphic Arts program. Two Bulls earned his Master’s in Fine Arts from Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson, NY. Two Bulls has exhibited his artwork in galleries and museums nationally and internationally with works in several museum permanent collections. Two Bulls is an artist laureate for the Oglala Sioux Tribe and a United States Artist Fellow.