In his book, World Music, Richard Nidel described him as a flautist and film composer "who incorporates synthesizers into Native sounds.
"[9] Spotted Eagle is the producer of Sundance Media Group's 2002 video The Way of the Pow-Wow.
[6][7] Born Douglas Wallentine,[2][3][4] he was raised in a non-Native family in Valley Junction, Iowa.
After his family moved to Salt Lake City, Utah, he was a guitarist in a Christian rock band.
[citation needed] He says he grew up around Lakota and Navajo families in Iowa and Utah, the former of which he says gave him his name when he was 14 or 16.