S. D. Nelson

SD Nelson is descended from Norse and American Indian heritage. He is an enrolled member of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and his Lakota name is Maȟpíya Kiny’An, or Flying Cloud. His many children’s books, inspired by this heritage, offer unique interpretations of Indigenous stories, themes, and imagery that reveal the richness and depth of Lakota life.

Nelson has spent decades creating stories of the Great Plains and the Dakotas, detailing its beauty and diversity, both its history and present-day life, so that those who live there, especially the youngest children, see themselves in his stories and read these stories, and people from far away can better know this special place and its people.