Hillary Kempenich is a member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa. She was raised on the Turtle Mountain reservation. Kempenich earned a Bachelor of Arts at the University of North Dakota. She is an established studio artist and advocate for the arts, education, social justice, and Native issues. Kempenich has won awards for her work from the National Child Welfare Assocation, Native Arts Gathering, and the First People’s Fund. Her work is in the permanent collection of the U.S. Department of Interior Museum