Rusty Gillette is Arikara / Hidatsa from the Fort Berthold Reservation in North Dakota. His Indian name is "Hooves" and he is a member of the Dead Grass Society in White Shield, North Dakota.

Rusty earned his bachelor's degree in communications with a concentration in public relations from the University of Mary in 1996.

Rusty now owns his own graphic arts company, iFIVE Graphics, and is the co-founder of Drumhop Productions.

Rusty has been a dancer his whole life. He has traveled and served as head staff at many powwows all throughout the United States and Canada. Highlights of his powwow career would be tours in France and Italy, winning the Midnight Grass Dance Special at Gathering of Nations, appearances on MTV's Road Rules, meeting the French president, Jacques Chirac and dancing at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. He is proud to be drug and alcohol-free his whole life. Rusty currently lives in Bismarck, North Dakota with his wife, Jodi, and three kids, Vance (14), Coral (9) and George (4).