Biography   

 I was always raised to be proud of my heritage ... I consider myself a progressive contemporary painter; I try to capture the pride and spirituality of my people, blending traditional with contemporary.
Don Brewer was raised on the Pine Ridge and Cheyenne River Indian Reservations. His Lakota name, Wakpa, means river. He likens his life to a river. Many experiences have led him to drastically different settings, as tributaries feed a river on its way to the ocean. Wakpa was his great-grandmother’s family name. As a child, Don's great-grandmother told him if he used the name Wakpa in a good way, he would be helped by the spirits.

When Brewer returned to Pine Ridge after four years in the Marine Corps, he began to paint. It was then he took Wakpa as his artist name. At that time, Brewer decided to dedicate his life to art. He realized the words of his great-grandmother had been a prophecy.

Brewer spent part of his young life attending public schools in urban settings also. During the summers he would return to his mother’s family in Pine Ridge or his father’s family on the Cheyenne River Reservation. The combination of these experiences made a large impact on his life.

Through his work, Wapka strives to touch people, especially with the spiritual aspects sometimes hard to reach and explain. He wants to evoke reactions and feelings in his art's viewers.

The image of a male fancy dancer in bright regalia with his head held high was selected to represent the 38th Annual United Tribes International Powwow in September of 2007. The work, "Wacipi Waste," rendered in mixed styles, pays tribute to the joy and goodness of the powwow. It is the third time a work from Brewer has been selected to promote the "Tribes" powwow, one of the longest running contest powwows in the country. Click on the image at the left to read UTTC Article of 5 August 2007

Brewer's first poster image for the UTTC powwow was in 1986, followed by another, "Sioux Chief," in 1991. His work ranges in size from book and CD covers to 50 foot landscape murals. Living near the San Carlos Apache Nation, Brewer has been interested in teaching young tribal artists. He hopes to open a gallery in the future.

Don Brewer Wapka currently resides in Globe , Arizona.