Heidi BigKnife was born in Enid, Oklahoma and grew up in Denver, Colorado where her mother worked in the interior design field. BigKnife's father trained pilots at the Vance Air Force Base in Enid and later went on to work as a commercial pilot. Her mother's artistic eye influenced BigKnife's later career throughout her childhood. She remembers doing countless arts and crafts projects with her mother and developed the skill to "create something out of nothing." While in grade school, BigKnife was placed in a gifted and talented program through which she was afforded the opportunity to tour various museums and view art that she would have otherwise not had the opportunity to do. In junior high, BigKnife was the only female in the drafting and shop classes. During her high school years, BigKnife developed a love for photography that continued with her into college. Shawnee on her mother's side, BigKnife's heritage began to play a large role in her life during her college years. After graduating from the Institute of American Indian Arts, Heidi adopted her maternal grandmother's maiden name.
Education
After graduating from high school, BigKnife attended Beloit College in Beloit, Wisconsin. BigKnife received a Bachelor of Studio Arts degree from Beloit. In the early 1990s, BigKnife earned an associate degree in two- and three-dimensional design from the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico. She continued to study photography at the Institute under Meridel Rubenstein and also took her first jewelry class with Lane Coulter. She attended the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign and studied color photography, digital imaging, and videography.
Style and notable works
BigKnife works in jewelry design, often gathering found items for inspiration. Her work attempts preserve her Native American culture, but at the same time recycle images of the past into new forms and shapes via materials and techniques. She is also a skilled metalsmith and combines political and social messages into her pieces. Some of her works are featured in the permanent collection of the Museum of Contemporary Native Arts and the Heard Museum.
Awards and achievements
BigKnife was awarded the Helen Hardin Memorial Scholarship with which she primarily purchased jewelry supplies. Her work has appeared in Tulsa People magazine and has been reviewed by Metalsmith magazine. Her work has won competitive awards for jewelry at the Tulsa Indian Art Festival, Indian Market, and the Heard Indian Art Fair
