Includes early commercial artists, graphic designers, and typographers, as well as contemporary designers and commercial artists who have since walked on.
Sequoyah (c. 1770–1840)
(Cherokee)
Invented the Cherokee syllabary.
Angel De Cora (Hinook-Mahiwi-Kalinaka) (1871–1919)
(Winnebago)
Artist, Illustrator, Designer, Educator
“An American Indian Artist,” feature obituary on Angel DeCora by Natalie Curtis, The Outlook: An Illustrated Weekly Journal of Current Events, Wednesday, January 14, 1920, New York.
Louis Karoniaktajeh Hall (January 15, 1918–?)
(Mohawk from Kahnawake)
Created artwork/designs for the American Indian Movement.
John Wesley Chaddlesone (1923–1980)
(Kiowa Nation)
Commercial illustrator.
Sam English (1942–2023)
(Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians)
Well-known contemporary artist whose work has been featured in many posters in Indian Country.
Mary Morez (1946–2004)
(Navajo Nation)
“A multidisciplinary creative, her work ranged from stylized paintings to realistic drawings depicting moments of daily Navajo life. She created book and record illustrations, textiles, and graphic design and was also an art consultant to the Museum of Navajo Ceremonial Art, now the Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian, and a curator at the Heard Museum in Phoenix, Arizona.”—Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian
Shon Paul Quannie (1972–2020) of 4X Studio
(Hopi/Acoma)
Jeffrey Veregge (1974–2024)
(Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe)
Klee Benally (1975–2023) of Burning Chair Studios
(Diné)