His father worked for the U.S. Office of Censorship during World War II and later became a Methodist minister.

"[5] Because Nieto was not an enrolled tribal member, he could no longer claim to be a Native American artist after the passage of the 1990 Indian Arts and Crafts Act.

[4] In 2002 his painting Buffalo Dancer was installed in the Albuquerque International Sunport’s Great Hall.

[10] He served on the Advisory Boards for both the Wheelwright Museum and the Native American Preparatory School.

[1] Nieto is represented in the New Mexico Museum of Fine Arts in Santa Fe.