Mikayla Patton comes from the Oglala Lakota Nation where she grew up on the Pine Ridge Reservation, near the Black Hills of South Dakota. She works heavily in printmaking and painting with the assistance of mixed media. Patton uses cultural practices and motifs as modes of expression for her work. She’s gradually finding diverse ways to immerse herself and culture into more conceptual yet, expressive forms of art, including poetry. Patton also views her work as a relationship to her mental health and connection to her Lakota culture. Patton has been in shows at the Heard Museum in Phoenix, the Dahl Art Center in Rapid City, and reoccurring at the Red Cloud Heritage Museum in Pine Ridge. Her work has earned her a scholarship for college in 2011 from the Heard Museum, including, an Honorable Mention and three awards for the young artist whose work shows the greatest improvement from the Red Cloud Art Show. In 2017, Patton was acknowledged for her work and honored with an Emerging Artist Award from the Native POP show in South Dakota.