(1948 -)Born in San Francisco, California, of Cherokee descent, Don Chunestudey attended the California College of Arts and Crafts in Oakland and the legendary Institute of American Indian Arts (1966-1969) in Santa Fe, New Mexico where he studied sculpture under the renowned Allan Houser. Chunestudey also studied composition and still life drawing at Cooper Union in New York City where he was stationed while in the Army.Returning to California in 1971, Don Chunestudey earned two associate degrees from California State Community College. In the late 1970s, back in Santa Fe, he became an apprentice to Allan Houser. Later, he taught sculpture at the Institute of American Indian Arts (1983-1996), exhibited in the IAIA Museum, and received his BFA degree in 1996 from New Mexico Highlands University in Las Vegas.In addition to the IAIA, Don Chunestudey's sculptures have been exhibited in the Shidoni Gallery/Foundry Philbrook Museum, Tulsa, OK; Heard Museum, Phoenix, AZ; Department of the Interior, Washington, DC; Turtle Museum, Niagara Falls, NY; and the Northern Bay Area Art Show in California. In September 2003, Chunestudey received the Allan Houser Memorial Award, one of seven annual New Mexico Governor's Awards for Excellence in the Arts.