After his father finished school the family eventually moved to Enid, OK and Little Thunder attended Adams and then Harrison Elementary.
[8] After graduation from high school, Little Thunder began taking classes at Southwestern Oklahoma State College (SWOSU) in 1975, while majoring in pre-pharmacy.
[9] Little Thunder transferred to Bacone College in Muskogee, Oklahoma in 1976 because he wanted a smaller setting, still majoring in pre-pharmacy.
[11] After graduating from high school in Canton, Oklahoma, Merlin attended several colleges and universities to major in other subjects, yet he continued to learn art on the side.
The young man married before graduating with a degree, quit college, and began working in a factory.
[12] He describes his art as coming from a spiritual experience which spurred his drawing and focuses on Cheyenne subject matter painted largely from memory.
He has developed a reputation for his 1950s period work inspired by his great grandfather’s experiences riding in cattle drives and performing with the 101 Ranch show.