Hock E Aye Vi Edgar Heap of Birds (b. 1954) is an internationally known artist and scholar of Cheyenne and Arapaho descent.  Since earning his MFA from the Tyler School of Art in Philadelphia (1979), he has exhibited work in the US, Canada, South Africa, Australia and Europe.  His work engages with issues around colonial history and contemporary experience.  In addition to his practice, Heap of Birds is a curator and lecturer, and is Professor Emeritus in the Native American Studies Department at the University of Oklahoma. He was named USA Ford Fellow in 2012, Distinguished Alumni, University of Kansas, in 2014 and received honorary doctorates from Massachusetts College of Art and Design, Boston (2008), Emily Carr University of Art and Design (2017) and California Institute of the Arts, Valencia (2018). In 2020, Heap of Birds was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences as a member of the Humanities and Arts class, with a specialty in Visual Arts.