John seeks to connect people with the natural world and its communities. Through his work, he lives out his belief that a balanced way of living must start with an acceptance and invitation for the natural world to re-enter one’s heart and mind.

John Potter (Ojibwe) lives in Red Lodge, Montana, surrounded by the four-leggeds and wingeds that find refuge and peace in his yard. Red Lodge was built upon the traditional lands of the Oceti Sakowin, Cheyenne, Apsaalooke, and Salish Peoples.

Having grown up in the Chicago area, John splits his time between Chicago and his Lac du Flambeau Ojibwe reservation in northern Wisconsin. He earned degrees in Illustration and Fine Art—thus beginning his journey toward becoming a regionally, nationally, and internationally recognized painter. His work can be found in permanent collections at The National Museum of Wildlife Art (Jackson, WY), The Montana Historical Society Museum (Helena, MT), and at The Brinton Museum (Big Horn, WY), as well as in private collections around the world. 

One of John’s greatest honors was being part of the reintroduction of wolves in Yellowstone in 1995 and 1996. He and several other traditional practitioners performed adoption ceremonies for the wolves, welcoming our relatives back into their original homelands after a long absence, and back into the lives of the People. John Potter was adopted into the Sherman tiospaye as Gerald Sherman’s hunka brother, thus expanding his family with many grandchildren, nieces and nephews, and siblings. John also worked with Bar K Management Co, and now with Indigenous Impact Co.