LaPena helped defined a generation of Native artists in a revival movement to share their experiences, traditions, culture, and ancestry.
[9] LaPena's contributions about the Wintu were included in the seminal book, Handbook of North American Indians Volume 8: California (1978).
[3][12] LePena was part of the seminal art exhibition curated by artist Carlos Villa, Other Sources: An American Essay (1976), which was an alternative celebration of the United States Bicentennial, and focused on people of color and women.
[13] It showcased many San Francisco Bay Area artists including Ruth Asawa, Bernice Bing, Rolando Castellón, Claude Clark, Robert Colescott, Frank Day, Rupert García, Mike Henderson, Oliver Jackson, Linda Lomahaftewa, George Longfish, Ralph Maradiaga, José Montoya, Manuel Neri, Mary Lovelace O'Neal, Darryl Sapien, Raymond Saunders, James Hiroshi Suzuki, Horace Washington, Al Wong, René Yañez, and Leo Valledor.
In 1999, at the 48th Venice Biennale, the exhibit “Rendezvoused" sponsored by the Native American Arts Alliance, curated by Nancy Mithlo (Chiricahua Apache) and featured artist Frank LaPena, alongside Harry Fonseca, Bob Haozous, Jaune Quick-to-See Smith, Kay WalkingStick, Richard Ray Whitman, and poet Simon Ortiz.
LaPena had been married to Catherine Alice Sell Skinner, from August 19, 1966, to April 12, 1984, and ending in divorce.