Morrisseau was born March 14, 1932

When he started painting, he was discouraged from sharing traditional stories and images outside of the First Nation, but he decided to break this taboo.

On that occasion, he had a vision of Jesus encouraging him to be a role model through his art. He converted to the apostolic faith and started introducing Christian themes in his art. A year later he was arrested for drunk and disorderly behaviour and was incarcerated for his own protection. He was assigned an extra cell as a studio and was allowed to attend a nearby church.