Michael Kanteena began developing his present work around 1990. Having grown up away from his Pueblo culture, he decided to trace his people's roots through to the Chacoan Culture. Being a potter himself, he found a passion for their pottery style. With guidance from archaeologists, books, and trial-and-error, his pottery began to take on its present form.

Michael was named in Southwest Art Magazine as one of the top 500 emerging Indian artists. He received the popular Wingspread Collectors' Guide 1998 Award of Excellence and Judges' Choice at the prestigious Heard Museum Indian Artists' Show in Phoenix. Michael appeared in "Pueblo Artists Portraits" by Toba Tucker, and in the January, 2001 issue of New Mexico Magazine.