"When creating art, I draw from a variety of tools ranging from layered colors and images, geometric shapes, whimsical characters, traditional and historical themes, as well as current problems. I also enjoy working from a storytelling base, both my own life story as well aas traditional ones. I want to keep traditional stories alive, even if only in a still frame or painting, with hopes that it will spark the curiousity of most people. I hope that they find the image intriguing enough that they will take it upon themselves to ask questions. Questions about me, about Native Americans, and about art in general."

 

Part of Her Many Horses' humor is that even though he paints a very stereotypical, stoic Indian with a stoney face and a feather in his hair, he does not see them as such. "We are in a time when everything for our people is changing and we get to choose. So I sit back, paint, and point my finger and laugh. I laugh at those who are set in their beliefs that they know what it means to be an Indian, and I attempt to use the whimsical nature of my painting to help me convey this feeling." 

 

Through his art, Charles hopes to show the art world that Native American artists can create more than just pottery and beadwork... that they do not still live in tipis, and that a paintbrush can be as effective at expressing traditions as a sweat lodge or a pow-wow.

 

A Sicangua Lakota and enrolled member of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe, Her Many Horses has received many awards throughout his young career.