Harvey Pratt is a Cheyenne and Arapaho tribal member and is recognized as an accomplished master artist. He is a self taught, multi-talented artist whose first artistic endeavor was not painting but sculpting his own toys or action figures from clay given to him and his younger brother by their grandfather. His family is an artistic and traditional Native American family. He has been recognized by the Cheyenne People as an Outstanding Southern Cheyenne. Harvey received one of the highest honors by being inducted in the Southern Cheyenne Chief’s Lodge as one of their traditional Peace Chiefs.

Manhunter

Harvey Pratt’s portfolio reflects a variety of themes. His paintings and sculptures are about tradition, death, the Cheyenne People, warriors, and both sides of the law. History, truthfulness, tribulation and humanity’s essence are his favorite topics.

“When I was a little boy, I didn’t know anything. I didn’t know who I was, where I was going, how I was going to get there and what I was going to be when I got there. Someone had to tell me everything; including right from wrong. Someone had to give me my values, to tell me what was acceptable. Someone had to tell me what I was good at and when I was going a good job. This responsibility came from my family, relations, teachers, and the laws. If no one had ever said, “Harvey, you’re pretty good at drawing,” I probably would not have picked up a pencil and tried to please someone with my new skill. It comes to mind my mother patting me on the head and telling me I was doing a good job and I was happy with that recognition.” Harvey credits his first and second grade teachers with reinforcing and nourishing the need for approval and the happiness when recognition was given. “My skills and imagination grew and I recognized that I no longer needed someone to tell me that I had some ability. I improved on my own with the need to become better and satisfy the desire to create. I then became aware of all the beautiful things on the earth that the Creator gave us. I developed a need for knowledge and to be creative. I needed to express myself through painting, sculpting, music, reading and writing. Regardless of my ability in the various arts, I still expressed myself and wanted others to experience the same inspiration.”

Stand Alone

Harvey’s Creative expression and artistry touch all facets of his life and is an unmatched blend of forensic art and law enforcement experience with Native American insight. Designs created by Harvey include logos, seals, medals, and memorials for both the Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes and Oklahoma Law Enforcement agencies. Pratt designed the limited edition Oklahoma Centennial Commemorative Pendleton blanket and completed forensic sketches based on interviews with witnesses of Big Foot sightings for the book titled, The Hoopa Project: Big Foot Encounters in California by Dave Paulides, Director of the North American Bigfoot Search.

Harvey Pratt graduated high school from Saint Patrick’s Indian Mission, Anadarko, Oklahoma. He earned an A.A.S. degree in Police Science from Oklahoma State University, Oklahoma City, OK. He is a United States Marine Corps veteran, 1962-1965, served in Vietnam, Air Rescue and Da Nang Air Base Security.

The Tradition Continues

Harvey began his career with the Midwest City Police Department in 1965 where he did his first witness description drawing a year later. This first attempt in forensic arts resulted in an arrest and conviction. He joined the OSBI in 1972 as a narcotics investigator and retired in 1992 as an Assistant Director. His expertise in witness description drawing, skull reconstruction, skull tracing, age progression, soft tissue postmortem drawing and restoration of photographs and videos have aided law enforcement agencies both nationally and internationally.

First Journey

Mr. Harvey also aides investigations though training classes, besides lecturing before universities, colleges, schools and civic groups.

I would like to thank Mr. Harvey for allowing me to share his work with visitors. The work demonstrated in this article  included in this article are but a mere sample of Mr. Harvey’s talents. To view and learn more of Mr. Harvey’s work please visit his website at: harveypratt.com

Not Afraid of Pawnee

Harvey's skills have assisted law enforcement in many high profile cases. A few of those cases are as follows: Green River Killer (Gary Ridgeway), BTK Killer (Dennis Rader), Oklahoma Girl Scout Murders (Gene Leroy Hart), Henry Lee Lucas and Ottis Toole, Bobby Joe Long, I-5 Killer (Randall Woodfield), Tommy Lynn Sells, World Trade Center 1993 bombing, Sirloin Stockade Murders (Roger Dale Stafford, Verna Stafford and Harold Stafford), Joe Fischer, Tommy Ward and Karl Fontenot, Roger Wheeler Murder (Winter Hill Gang case – James J. "Whitey" Bulger, Stephen Flemmi and Johnny Martorano), the Oklahoma City Bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, Donald Eugene Webb, Oklahoma State Fair Abducted Girls (Roy Russell Long), the Weather Underground Organization and Randolph Dial.

Whadusay?

Considered one of the leading forensic artists in the United States, Harvey has spent over 42 years in law enforcement, completing thousands of witness description drawings and hundreds of soft tissue reconstructions. His work has assisted in thousands of arrests and hundreds of identification of unidentified human remains throughout America. Currently employed as the police forensic artist by the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI), Harvey is the only full-time police forensic artist in Oklahoma.