SD Nelson

Quick Facts

Full Name	SD Nelson
Occupation	Illustrator
Date Of Birth	Jan 25, 1950(1950-01-25)
Age	74
Birthplace	Fort Knox
Country	United States
Birth City	Kentucky
Horoscope	Capricorn

SD Nelson Biography

SD Nelson is one of the most popular and richest Illustrator who was born on January 25, 1950 in Fort Knox, Kentucky, United States. SD Nelson was born Stephen D. Nelson (born on January 25 1950) at the United States Army Station Hospital in Fort Knox, Kentucky. Nelson is an American illustrator and the author of a variety of children’s novels, like Black Elk’s Eye, Gift Horse, The Star People and Buffalo Bird Girl. Nelson’s work is praised for being “stirring, inspirational, original and beautifully illustrated”. His books have won an award from the American Indian Library Association – Honor Book Award 2016. and the Spur Award – Western Writers of America 2004 and 2006. (Finalist Awards 2005 and 2011) The Notable Book Award – American Library Association 2001, 2011 as well as The Bluebonnet Master List Award – Texas Library Association 2011.

The author has given lectures in The National Museum of the American Indian in Washington DC and he was the keynote speaker at Read North Dakota 2010 (NDHC). Nelson was selected as the 1997 main artist to the Inter-Tribal Ceremonial – Gallup, New Mexico and for the Night Visions exhibition in Flagstaff, Arizona. Nelson is president of Read at Home (readathome.org) A 501c3 non-profit literacy program for pre-school Native American children that currently is serving hundreds of children across the Navajo Nation, the Shoshone-Bannock Reservation, and The Gila River Indian Community.

It was on the Dakota prairies that Nelson developed his passion for landscapes, star-filled nights and traditional Lakota imagery—”I remember one particular summer night…cricket song filled my ears. Then, shimmering overhead, the Northern Lights came dancing, pale green at first, then in ethereal robes of red and gold; spiraling ever upward…colors vanishing, only to reappear. Although I was staring directly into the heavens, from the corner of my eye, I saw something. The sacred something that Lakota people believe is within all things. I was only a boy, but I was seeing in a Wakan manner, in a sacred way.”

The artist has a diverse ethnic background. He is descended from Norse and American Indian heritage and is an enrolled member of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe in the Dakotas with ancestry to the Sioux or Lakota people. Nelson’s mother, Christine Rose Gipp, a quarter-blood Lakota Indian was bilingual in English and Hunkpapa Lakota language. Because his father, Thurston D. Nelson, was a career Army officer (164th Infantry Regiment, WWII-Guadalcanal, Korea, Germany, Vietnam), SD lived in many different places as a young boy including military bases in Kentucky, Kansas and Germany. His Lakota mother’s ties to her home in western North Dakota brought them back to the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation nearly every summer. The Lakota people of the Northern Plains are members of the Sioux, or the three allied tribes: the Lakota, the Dakota and Nakota.

Night Visions, Coconino Center for the Arts, AZ – 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2017.

SD Nelson Net Worth

SD Nelson is one of the richest Illustrator from United States. According to our analysis, Wikipedia, Forbes & Business Insider, SD Nelson 's net worth $5 Million. (Last Update: December 11, 2023)

SD was a graduate of North High School in Fargo, ND (1968–Hall of Fame). He received his bachelor’s degree in art in the art department at Minnesota State University at Moorhead in 1972. In his college years, Nelson attended talks given by Russell Means and Dennis Banks who spoke about his involvement in the American Indian Movement (AIM) and the restoration the American Indian heritage. The first influences he had included the Impressionists of France as well as N.C. Wyeth who was famous for his realistic and dramatic illustrations of classic tales and fairy tales.

Nelson was a teacher of Art within the schools of the general public of Wahpeton, North Dakota (1975-76). In 1976, he moved into Flagstaff, Arizona to teach art in East Flagstaff Junior High (1976-2003) that is now Mount Elden Middle School, where he came across Alan Jim, a Navajo medicine man and Lakota Sun dancer. Alan Jim and another Lakota Sun dancer, Dicky Arias, mentored Nelson in the art of traditional Lakota practices.

National Museum of the American Indian/Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC – 2006, 2010.

Height, Weight & Body Measurements

SD Nelson height Not available right now. SD weight Not Known & body measurements will update soon.

Who is SD Nelson Dating?

According to our records, SD Nelson is possibily single & has not been previously engaged. As of December 1, 2023, SD Nelson’s is not dating anyone.

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Facts & Trivia

SD Ranked on the list of most popular Illustrator. Also ranked in the elit list of famous people born in United States. SD Nelson celebrates birthday on January 25 of every year.