CULTURAL GROUP:
Kaska/Tlingit

BORN:
June 15, 1970

BIRTHPLACE:
Watson Lake, Yukon

Dean Heron is a member of the Wolf clan of the Kaska/Tlingit Nation. He learned to paint from his artistic family; his birth father, stepfather, and sister are all painters and artists.  Dean finds painting "as a way to share ideas and stories, and pass these on to the generations to come." He graduated from the Freda Diesing School of Northwest Coast Art, where he received training from Dempsey Bob and Stan Bevan. In the summer of 2007, Dean painted five longhouse fronts for the community of Kitselas, near Terrace. He mainly works in the Tlingit style, but most of his works carry a distinctly modern feel. In the summer of 2010, Dean created several painted, red cedar pendants for Lattimer Gallery. In 2013, Dean became an instructor at the Freda Diesing School.