Del Iron Cloud, a Hunkpapa Lakota, was born in 1949 on the Standing Rock Reservation, located on the border of North Dakota and South Dakota. After graduating from high school in 1968, he spent two years at the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico and went on to attend the American Academy of Art in Chicago, Illinois. He enlisted in the Air Force in 1971. After serving in England, California, South Dakota and Colorado, he retired from the Air Force in 1991 as a Staff Sergeant.
Since his retirement Del has focused on his first love—painting. His favorite mediums are acrylic and watercolor, but he has used many mediums throughout his career. He has also painted more than 100 large murals, including one at the international arrivals corridor at the Denver International Airport.
Del and his wife Frieda have resided in Rapid City, South Dakota since 1995.
