Virginia Stroud has stated regarding her work: “I paint for my people. Art is a way for our culture to survive…perhaps the only way.” In 1970, Stroud became the youngest Native artist to win first place in the Woodlands division of the Philbrook Museum’s annual juried show. The Five Civilized Tribes Museum declared Stroud a Master Artist in 1986. In 2000, she was given the Cherokee Medal of Honor.