An enrolled member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, Wakinyan Chief also is of Mnicoujou and Hunkpapa descent. During the Indian Relocation Act, his Até (father) was sent to California, where Wakinyan was born and raised — and where he learned the art of graffiti, which inspired him to experiment with multiple disciplines, mediums, and styles. Over the years, Wakinyan has participated in multiple art shows and graffiti jams, taught graffiti workshops, designed and sold his personal art, and worked as a commissioned artist. He continues to enjoy painting graffiti and creating multimedia art.
When he was 23, Wakinyan moved back to South Dakota to dedicate his life to the betterment of the Lakota people. For roughly two years, he worked as a youth mentor with Generations Indigenous Ways, a year-round Lakota youth camp that strives to educate and empower the Wakanyeja (little sacred ones) with the knowledge and skills their ancestors possessed, incorporating those traditional ways and teachings with western science methodology. Wakinyan is proud that CRYP is currently working with GIWays to bring these camps to Cheyenne River, to benefit the Wakanyeja here.
Wakinyan also has worked with the Oglala Lakota Cultural & Economic Revitalization Initiative, which hosted the Indigenous Wisdom & Permaculture Skills Convergence in Slim Buttes on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. This annual event brought permaculture experts and participants who wanted to learn permaculture skills from around the world to Pine Ridge. Wakinyan attended the first convergence event, and during the second year, he taught a workshop about graffiti, assisted other experts with their workshops, and became a member of the OLCERI Board of Directors.
As CRYP’s arts manager, Wakinyan is responsible for leading operations at the Waniyetu Wowapi (Winter Count) Institute & Art Park, a multidisciplinary, community-based initiative that seeks to strengthen the connection of Lakota youth and the Cheyenne River community to traditional culture and life ways through art. The institute incorporates the Lakota Art Fellowship program, the Teen Art Internship program, the award-winning RedCan invitational graffiti jam, the free public art park, and a variety of community classes and events.
Wakinyan is the South Dakota Fellow for the 2023-24 National Leaders of Color Fellowship Program, representing the Arts Midwest jurisdiction.