It's on your mind everyday
Invading your every thought
What is this nuisance, you say?
It's the dream you've sought.

You know you have to chase it
Keeping it close to your heart
Askin' yourself, "Can I catch it?"
First you have to start.

Have faith in the Lord
And faith in yourself
Always knowing what you're shootin' toward
Keepin' discouragement and failure on the shelf.

In the end it's up to you-I mean, it's up to me
So when things aren't automatic
And dreams seem too big
I just smile and say...
Where there's a Will, there's a way.

by:

Donald D. Ruleaux
Artist

Donald D. Ruleaux, Oglala Sioux, was born in Martin, S.D. in 1931 to an English mother and a French/American Indian father. Ruleaux's childhood on the Pine Ridge Reservation and in Gordon, Neb., along with his Oglala Sioux roots, have inspired him to use the land and the American Indian culture for subject matter.

Ruleaux attended Kansas City Art Institute and received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Chadron State College in 1959. A National Institute of Art Fellowship from George Washington University enabled him to study for several months at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. The following year he was one of 25 experienced teachers selected for a program to earn a master's degree from Arizona State University.

After teaching public schools in Nebraska and South Dakota, Ruleaux and his wife returned to Chadron for their retirement. He joined Chadron State College as an adjunct art instructor to continue educating promising artists.

Ruleaux's paintings have been entered in countless competitive and invitational exhibitions-enough to merit more than 85 awards for his work. He received an Individual Artist Fellowship Grant from the South Dakota Arts Council in 1979 and the Chadron State College Distinguished Service Award in 1996. His work is in the permanent collections of the U.S. Department of the Interior and the Smithsonian Institution. He recently served as an advisor for an international exhibition of Australian Aboriginal and Northern Plains Indian art now on tour in the United States.

Ruleaux has been a longtime rodeo fan and supporter.

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