Joseph ᎧᎾᏘ Erb
Associate Professor
School of Theater, Film and Television,
University of California Los Angeles
EMPLOYMENT HISTORY
2026- present Associate Professor, School of Theater, Film and Television, University of California
2024-2026 Associate Professor, Film and Digital Media, University of California Santa Cruz
2022-2024 Assistant Professor, Film and Digital Media, University of California Santa Cruz
2018-2022 Assistant Professor, School of Visual Studies, University of Missouri
2016-18 Assistant Teaching Professor, Digital Storytelling Program and Department of Art, University of Missouri
2009-2015 Language Technology Specialist, Cherokee Nation
2006-2009 Animation and Digital Media Specialist, Cherokee Nation
2002-2006 Digital Storytelling and Animation Instructor, American Indian Resource Center
INTERESTS
Indigenous Narratives, Digital Storytelling, Documentary and Narrative Animation, Cultural Transformation through Technology, Indigenous Environmental Awareness, Cherokee Font Design, Indigenous Mapping, Film and New Media
TEACHING INTERESTS
Indigenous Narrative Structure, Animated Storytelling, Documentary Animation, Digital Storytelling and New Media, & Advanced Animation
EDUCATION
2002, MFA, University of Pennsylvania
1997, BFA, Oklahoma City University
INDIGENOUS COMMUNITY-BASED RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
2019-2024 Advisement of Indigenous lands to Apple on Apple Maps
2023-Present Advisement of Indigenous lands to Cherokee Nation on Apple Maps
2015-2020, Collaborated as the Cherokee Nation’s Language Technology Specialist in 2015, and in 2016-2020 as an unpaid consultant, with Google’s Google Earth Outreach team to embed Cherokee Nation and other tribal nation territories on Google Maps.
2014-2015 Directed Friends of Thunder, the first 360-degree animated planetarium show in a Native American language, shown in summer education programs across Cherokee Nation using a portable dome.
2008-2010 Collaborated as the Cherokee Nation’s Language Technology Specialist with Apple to incorporate Cherokee as a language option on iOS at Cherokee Nation. See Apple’s documentary about the Cherokee language adoption here.
2011-2013 Collaborated as the Cherokee Nation’s Language Technology Specialist with Microsoft to establish Windows 8 in the Cherokee language
2012-2015 Collaborated as the Cherokee Nation’s Language Technology Specialist with Facebook to localize social media in the Cherokee language at Cherokee Nation.
2010-2014 Collaborated as the Cherokee Nation’s Language Technology Specialist with the Google Search Engine Localization Team to localize Google search engine and Gmail in the Cherokee language. Work began during my time with the Cherokee Nation’s Language Technology program.
2010 Created the first Cherokee eBook for iPad at Cherokee Nation..
2008-2015 Founded the Language Technology program at the Cherokee Nation.
2002 Directed The Beginning They Told, the first computer-animated film in a Native American language.
CURRENT PROJECTS
Bigfoot Film, Film in Pre-Production.
Research and development for animation in Cherokee homelands for VR animation
Rabbit Stories, finished episode and 2 episodes in development, 25-minute show in computer animation, funded by the Cherokee Nation
Recent Films, Animated Short Films and New Media, (as Producer/Director)
2026 ᏙᏧᏩ ᎠᎴ ᏔᎷᎩᏍᎩ ᏴᏫ (Redbird and the Robot)(Post Production Producter, Producer/Director/Co-Writer)
2025: "Rabbit and Bear", (Creator/Producer/Director/Writer)
2025:Restorying Our HeartPlaces, (Director, Animator)
2023 ᏥᏍᏚ ᎠᏥᏃᎮᏍᎬᎢ Rabbit Stories, Episode 1 ᎡᎵᏏ ᎠᏴᎩ ᏥᎨᏒGranny Was An Outlaw, (Creator/Producer/Director/Writer/animator/ modeling)
2022 Ekvn-Yefolecv Ecovillage Animation, Arts Place Org.(Producer Animation Director/Animator)
2020 ᎠᏓᎶᏄᎮᏍᎩTrickster, First Cherokee Video Game, on the iTunes and Google Play platforms, (Producer, Director, Animator)
2018-2019 Three animated films about historic Cherokee figures (Producer, Director, Animator)
2017 ᏅᏓ ᎠᎴ ᎡᏆ ᏩᎶᏏ Sun and the Great Frog, (Producer, Director, Animator)
2017-2019 ᎠᏍᎦᏯ ᎦᏅᎯᏓ,The long Man, (Producer, Director, Animator)
2017-2018 ᎠᏴᏓᏆᎶᏍᎩ ᎠᎴ ᎤᎧᏖᎾ Thunder and Uktena, (Producer, Director, Animator)
2016 Water is Life, (Producer, Director, Animator)
Animated Segments for Documentary film and new media (animation department)
2022 Indigenous Cuisine, created and animated an opening to a new Indigenous cooking show. Artist and animator for show’s introduction.
2021 Sealaska Heritage Institute's Walter Soboleff Building Animation, Arts Place Org., (producer)
2020-2022 Collaborator (dome animation), “Participatory Design Process of an Indigenous Calendar Visualization,” National Science Foundation “Science, Technology, and Society” 2-year grant, $315,000
2021 The Clay She Was Made Of, Director Paulett Moore, (Animation department)
2020 Searching for Sequoyah, Director James M. Fortier, (Animation department)
2018 Oil Is life, Director Kyle Bell, (animated graphics)
2017 Running Coast to Coast: Andy Payne and the 1928 Transcontinental Footrace, (animated graphics)
Awards
2025 Award Perry Aunko Indigenous Language Preservation Award, City of Tulsa’s Greater
Tulsa Area Indian Affairs Commission
2024 Award Winner for Animation Series Award, Dreamspeakers International
Indigenous Film Festival
Best Indigenous Native American Peoples, Bare Bones Film Festival
Best Animated Short, Washington DC International Cinema Festival
Indigenous Shorts, Fort Smith International Film Festival
Best Web Series/TV Pilot, Independent Shorts Awards
2023
Best Fantasy Short, Independent Shorts Awards
Best Indigenous Production, CARE Awards
2022
Creative Native Award, First Americans Museum,
2020
Mystical Seven (M7) Award, University of Missouri,
2019
President’s Award for Cross-Cultural Engagement Missouri University System,
Best Indigenous Film, ORION International Film Festival
Best MICRO-SHORT NARRATIVE Bare Bones International Film & Music Festival
Best Animated Short Film Great Message International Film Festival
Best Indigenous Film ORION IFF International Film Festival
2018
Audience Choice Award, Best Narrative Short Film, One Nation Film Festival
Best Short Animation, Great Message International Film Festival, Pune,
Maharashtra, India, for First Medicine: The long Man
BEST ANIMATED SHORT, Twister Alley Film Festival,
2017
Cherokee Nation Organization Award for Remember the Removal
2016
Cherokee Nation Community Leadership Award
2015
Best Textile, Cherokee Homecoming Art Show,
2014
First Place, Jewelry, Trail of Tears Art Show
First Place, Jewelry, Trail of Tears Cherokee Heritage Center
Sherman Chaddlesone Arts & Lecture Series
2013
First Place, Painting, Trail of Tears Cherokee Heritage Center
2012
First Place, Painting, Trail of Tears Cherokee Heritage Center
2011
Judges Choice Award, Cherokee Homecoming Art Show
FILM FESTIVALS & SCREENINGS
International Screenings
2025 The 16th annual Native American and Indigenous Studies Association (NAISA) conference First American Museum June 26–28, 2025
ᏥᏍᏚ ᎠᏥᏃᎮᏍᎬᎢ (Rabbit Stories)
2024 Aporia International village Film Festival, November 1, 2024
ᏥᏍᏚ ᎠᏥᏃᎮᏍᎬᎢ (Rabbit Stories)
RNCI Red Nation International Film Festival, November 1, 2024
ᏥᏍᏚ ᎠᏥᏃᎮᏍᎬᎢ (Rabbit Stories)
Three Fires International Film Festival, October 10, 2024
ᏥᏍᏚ ᎠᏥᏃᎮᏍᎬᎢ (Rabbit Stories)
Pathways Indigenous Arts Festival - Film Festival, August 16, 2024
ᏥᏍᏚ ᎠᏥᏃᎮᏍᎬᎢ (Rabbit Stories)
Native Lens, October 8, 2024
ᏥᏍᏚ ᎠᏥᏃᎮᏍᎬᎢ (Rabbit Stories)
Native Spirit Film Festival, October 11, 2024
ᏥᏍᏚ ᎠᏥᏃᎮᏍᎬᎢ (Rabbit Stories)
Lonely Seal International Film, Screenplay and Music Festival, August 20, 2024
ᏥᏍᏚ ᎠᏥᏃᎮᏍᎬᎢ (Rabbit Stories)
Toronto Lift-Off Film Festival, June 1, 2024
ᏥᏍᏚ ᎠᏥᏃᎮᏍᎬᎢ (Rabbit Stories)
Seattle Film Festival, June 26, 2024
ᏥᏍᏚ ᎠᏥᏃᎮᏍᎬᎢ (Rabbit Stories)
Latino & Native American Film Festival, March 17, 2024
ᏥᏍᏚ ᎠᏥᏃᎮᏍᎬᎢ (Rabbit Stories)
Dreamspeakers International Indigenous Film Festival, April 26, 2024
ᏥᏍᏚ ᎠᏥᏃᎮᏍᎬᎢ (Rabbit Stories)
Green Bay Film Festival, February 10, 2024
ᏥᏍᏚ ᎠᏥᏃᎮᏍᎬᎢ (Rabbit Stories) Award Best Indigenous Story
Durango Independent Film Festival, February 28, 2024
ᏥᏍᏚ ᎠᏥᏃᎮᏍᎬᎢ (Rabbit Stories)
Washington DC International Cinema Festival, April 30, 2024
ᏥᏍᏚ ᎠᏥᏃᎮᏍᎬᎢ (Rabbit Stories) Award
2023 Los Angeles Skins Film Festival, Los Angeles, California, November 14, 2023
ᏥᏍᏚ ᎠᏥᏃᎮᏍᎬᎢ (Rabbit Stories)
First Nations Film and Video Festival, Chicago Il, November 1, 2023
ᏥᏍᏚ ᎠᏥᏃᎮᏍᎬᎢ (Rabbit Stories)
Will Rogers Motion Picture Festival, Claremore, OK , November 1, 2023
ᏥᏍᏚ ᎠᏥᏃᎮᏍᎬᎢ (Rabbit Stories)
Bare Bones Music & Documentary Festival, Muskogee Ok, November 6, 2023
ᏥᏍᏚ ᎠᏥᏃᎮᏍᎬᎢ (Rabbit Stories) Award
Four Corners Film Festival, Farmington, NM, September 7, 2023
ᏥᏍᏚ ᎠᏥᏃᎮᏍᎬᎢ (Rabbit Stories)
Montreal International Animation Film Festival, Montreal Quebec, Sept 17, 2023
ᏥᏍᏚ ᎠᏥᏃᎮᏍᎬᎢ (Rabbit Stories) Award Honorable Mention
Independent Shorts Awards, Los Angeles, CA, October 15, 2023
ᏥᏍᏚ ᎠᏥᏃᎮᏍᎬᎢ (Rabbit Stories) Award
WORLD THREADING Film Festival, Copenhagen, August 24, 2023
ᏥᏍᏚ ᎠᏥᏃᎮᏍᎬᎢ (Rabbit Stories)
The Atlanta SCI-FI Film Festival, Atlanta, October 6, 2023
ᏥᏍᏚ ᎠᏥᏃᎮᏍᎬᎢ (Rabbit Stories)
Circle Cinema Film Festival, Tulsa Oklahoma July 15, 2023
ᏥᏍᏚ ᎠᏥᏃᎮᏍᎬᎢ (Rabbit Stories)
2022 A Living Language
Cherokee Syllabary and Contemporary Art, November 19, 2021–March 14, 2022, Asheville, N.C.
We Prayed in Water, Cherokee Kids show
2021 A Living Language Cherokee Syllabary and Contemporary Art, Museum of the Cherokee Indian in Cherokee, NC from June 12, 2021 to October 31, 2021
We Prayed in Water, Cherokee Kids show
Searching for Sequoyah, PBS National television broadcast
November, 2021 shown in 86% of all PBS station in the U.S.A
Searching for Sequoyah, AIFF46 AMERICAN INDIAN FILM FESTIVAL, San Francisco, CA
Searching for Sequoyah, POCAHONTAS REFRAMED 5TH ANNUAL FILM FESTIVAL, VIRGINIA MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS
Searching for Sequoyah RED DIRT INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL STILLWATER, OKLAHOMA
Holba’ Pisachi’ Native Film Festival
November 6, 2021
Opening Weekend First American Museum, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Sept 18-19
We Prayed in Water, Sun and the Great Frog
Cherokee Nation Holiday Movie Drive-in Movie Night, Tahlequah, Cherokee Nation
Sept 4, 2021
Searching for Sequoyah
Holba’ Pisachi’ Native Film Festival, CHICKASAW NATION
November 6, 2021(Invited)
ᎠᏴᏓᏆᎶᏍᎩ ᎠᎴ ᎤᎧᏖᎾ Thunder and Uktena
2020 Ethnografilm, Paris, France
April 21, 2020 (Juried)
ᏍᏏᏉᏯ Sequoyah
American Documentary and Animation Film Festival and Film Fund, Palm Springs, CA
March 27, 2020 - (Juried)
Cherokee Chief John Ross
2019 Baja California International Film Festival, Tijuana, Baja California
June 20, 2019 (Juried)
First Medicine: The long Man
ORION International Film Festival, Online Competition
Winner of Best Indigenous Film
December 18, 2019 (Juried)
First Medicine: The long Man
Garifuna International Indigenous Film Festival, Santa Monica, California
May 17, 2019 (Juried)
First Medicine: The long ManNew Haven International Film Festival, Connecticut
May 15, 2019 (Juried)
First Medicine: The long Man
First Nations Film and Video Festival, Chicago
May 1, 2019 (Juried)
First Medicine: The long Man
Four Corners Film Festival, Farmington NM
September 10, 2019 (Juried)
First Medicine: The long Man
Quetzalcoatl Indigenous International Film Festival, Guatemala
July 1, 2019 (Juried)
First Medicine: The long Man
Animation Day in Cannes
May 14, 2019 (Juried)
Sun and the Great Frog
Asinabka Film & Media Arts Festival
August 7, 2019 (Juried)ᏍᏏᏉᏯ Sequoyah
Tribal Film Festival
August 24, 2019 (Juried)
ᏍᏏᏉᏯ Sequoyah
Indigenous Film Festival
August 10, 2019(Juried)
First Medicine: The long Man
Cherokee Chief John Ross
Native Spirit Film Festival
October 12, 2019 (Juried)
Cherokee Chief John Ross
Los Angeles Skins Film Festival
November 19, 2019 (Juried)
Cherokee Chief John Ross
SHORT to the Point International Film Festival, Bucharest
March 31, 2019 (Juried)
First Medicine: The long Man
Maoriland Film Festival, Ōtaki, Kapiti
March 20, 2019 (Juried)
First Medicine: The long Man
Dividing Lines: An African American and Native American Symposium,Kennesaw, Georgia
February 9, 2019 (Juried)
First Medicine: The long Man
2018 Switzerland International Film Festival
December 17, 2018 (Juried)
ᎠᏴᏓᏆᎶᏍᎩ ᎠᎴ ᎤᎧᏖᎾ Thunder and Uktena
Los Angeles Skins Film Festival, Los Angeles
November 13, 2018 (Juried)
First Medicine: The long Man
Great Message International Film Festival, Pune, Maharashtra India
Sept 22, 2018 (Juried) Award Winner Best Short Animation
First Medicine: The long Man
Native Spirit Film Festival, London, England
October 11, 2018 (Juried)
ᎠᏴᏓᏆᎶᏍᎩ ᎠᎴ ᎤᎧᏖᎾ Thunder and Uktena
National Museum of the American Indian Smithsonian Institution 2018 Native Cinema Showcase, Santa Fe NM
August 17, 2018 (Juried)
Sun and the Great Frog
44th Seattle International Film Festival, Seattle, Washington
May 17–June 10, 2018 (Juried)
ᎠᏴᏓᏆᎶᏍᎩ ᎠᎴ ᎤᎧᏖᎾ Thunder and Uktena
The 44th annual Seattle International Film Festival is the largest film festival in the United States, watched by around 150,000 people.
R.E.D. INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL, Oslo, Norway
August 8 – 12, 2018 (Juried)
This festival’s mission is to build a bridge between the different fields of performing, as well as visual art, and the film industry.
Asinabka Film & Media Arts Festival, Ottawa, Ontario
August 8, 2018 (Juried)
ᎠᏴᏓᏆᎶᏍᎩ ᎠᎴ ᎤᎧᏖᎾ Thunder and Uktena
Animation Day in Cannes, Cannes, France
May 16, 2018 (Juried)
Sun and the Great Frog
Bad Film Festival, New York City, NYJune 8, 2018 (Juried)
Sun and the Great Frog
Green Valley International Film Festival, Istanbul, Turkey
June 1, 2018 (Juried)
Water is Life
Wairoa Maori Film Festival, Auckland, New Zealand
June 8 -10 2018 (Juried)
ᎠᏴᏓᏆᎶᏍᎩ ᎠᎴ ᎤᎧᏖᎾ Thunder and Uktena
The Wairoa Maori Film Festival was founded in 2005 with the purpose of supporting, recognizing and presenting the indigenous storyteller narrative. The festival is hosted in Kahungunu Marae, a traditional Maori meeting house in the historic Maori village of Nuhaka. Each year since 2005, as the stars of Matariki (Pleiades) arose on the horizon, Maori filmmakers have gathered in Wairoa to celebrate the art of storytelling on screen. The festival screens feature films, short films, documentaries and multi-media art works all directed by Maori, written by Maori, or featuring people of Maori descent in an acting or documentary role. Alongside the Maori programme, we have screened indigenous film works from all around the world.
Garifuna International Indigenous Film Festival, Santa Monica, California
May 18 – 27, 2018 (Juried)
Sun and the Great Frog
The GIIFF, currently one of the nation’s most prestigious film festivals celebrating Garifuna, Caribbean and indigenous cultures from around the world.
Native Spirit Film Festival, London
October 12 – 21, 2018, (Juried)
ᎠᏴᏓᏆᎶᏍᎩ ᎠᎴ ᎤᎧᏖᎾ Thunder and Uktena
Native Spirit Foundation was founded by Mapuche leader Freddy Trequil to promote knowledge and awareness of Indigenous Cultures and support longer term projects towards education in Native Schools and Communities.
New Haven International Film Festival, Connecticut
May 2-5, 2018 (Juried)
Water is Life
The NHIFF line up of more than 100 films is represented by some of the most intriguing and thought-provoking film projects of the year. The films cover a wide range of subjects with an emphasis on: Human Rights, Peace (without military intervention), Social Justice, LGBT, STRONG WOMEN, and many of the world’s inequalities and injustices.
Cefalù Film Festival, Palermo, Italy
May 1, 2018, (Juried)
Sun and the Great Frog
Native Crossroads Film Festival & Symposium, Norman, Oklahoma
April, 2018, (Invited)
Sun and the Great Frog
Native Crossroads is a unique film festival and symposium that focuses on international Indigenous media. The event puts academics, media creators, and community and tribal organization representatives into dialogue to advance our discussions in all these fields.
International Changing Perspectives Film Festival, Istanbul, Turkey
April 10-15, 2018 (Juried)
Water is Life
Each year, the festival focuses on a social issue at hand. “Wild” was selected as this year’s theme, in order to share the impressions of the filmmakers who deal with urban wildlife and wildlife in nature, the cities and their guests, human impact on the environment and wildlife.
Ethnografilm Paris, Paris, France
April 3-7, 2018 (Juried)
Water is Life
Red Dirt International Film Festival, Edmond, Oklahoma
March 28 – 31, 2018(Juried)
ᎠᏴᏓᏆᎶᏍᎩ ᎠᎴ ᎤᎧᏖᎾ Thunder and Uktena
Recently named one of FilmFreeway's Top 100 Film Festivals out of nearly 9,000 festivals worldwide.
Māoriland Film Festival, Kapiti Coast Aotearoa, New Zealand
March 21-25, 2018 (Juried)
ᎠᏴᏓᏆᎶᏍᎩ ᎠᎴ ᎤᎧᏖᎾ Thunder and Uktena and Sun and the Great Frog
Māoriland Film Festival is an International Indigenous Film festival that celebrates Indigenous voices and storytelling in film.
Environmental Film Festival, Recovering Voices, National Museum of the American Indian Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC
March 17, 2018 (Invited)
We Prayed in Water
Curators: Joshua Bell, Curator of Globalization, National Museum of Natural History; Melissa Bisagni, Program Manager Media Initiatives, National Museum of the American Indian; Amalia Cordova, Latinx Curator for Digital and Emerging Media, Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage; Sarah Baburi, Program Assistant, Recovering Voices Initiative; Haley Bryant, Program Assistant, Mother Tongue Film Festival; Emily Cain, Program Assistant, Mother Tongue Film Festival.
Skábmagovat Indigenous Film Festival, Finland
January 25-28, 2018 (Juried)
Sun and the Great Frog
The festival spotlighted North America and Indigenous resistance with the theme“Hurray for Life.”
Big Sky Documentary Film Festival (BSDFF) in Missoula, Montana
February 20-25, 2018 (Juried)
Water is Life
The festival draws an audience of 20,000 and film entries from every corner of the globe. The Big Sky Documentary Film Festival is also an Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences qualifying event for short form documentaries.
One Nation Film Festival, Colorado Springs, Colorado
February, 2018, (Juried) Audience Choice Award
Best Narrative Short Film
ᎠᏴᏓᏆᎶᏍᎩ ᎠᎴ ᎤᎧᏖᎾ Thunder and Uktena (Juried)
One Nation Film Festival (ONFF) is an annual event held in Colorado Springs, CO which began in 2016. The festival focuses on Native American and global indigenous issues through Narratives, Documentaries and Student Short Films.
Mediterranean Film Festival, Sicily, Italy
January 2, 2018 (Juried)
Water is Life
Queen City Shorts, Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada (Finalist) nominated for BEST INDIGENOUS) January, 2018, (Juried)
ᎠᏴᏓᏆᎶᏍᎩ ᎠᎴ ᎤᎧᏖᎾ Thunder and Uktena
2017 Festival Internacional Imagem Natureza, Vila Real, Portugal
December 1, 2017 (Juried)
Water is Life
The Short Films Festival of Biodiversity is a project created to improve society’s awareness. The alliance between the arts (cinema, photography, drawing) and knowledge delivers the message that we should preserve the planet’s natural heritage.
Red Nation Film Festival & Awards, Northridge, Ca
November 8, 2017 (Juried)
ᎠᏴᏓᏆᎶᏍᎩ ᎠᎴ ᎤᎧᏖᎾ Thunder and Uktena
Red Nation Film Festival™ (RNFF) The Authentic Voice of American Indian & Indigenous Cinema™ is dedicated to breaking the barrier of racism by replacing American Indian stereotypes with recognition, new vision, arts, culture and economic prosperity.
Voices from the Waters International Traveling Film Festival Bangalore, India
November 7, 2017 (Juried)
Water is Life
Bangalore Film Society in collaboration with Karnataka Chalanachithra Academy, ActionAid India (Bangalore), Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB), Jain group of Institutions and a consortium of partner organizations, presented the 11th edition of Voices from the Waters International Travelling Film Festivalin2017. The festival is a cinematic community outreach program addressing the most fundamental issue of our times; “the right to water” that sustains lives and guarantees a safe planet for biodiversity. Curators: Ajith Samuel, Francis Xavier, Salomi Jacob, Sudeep Debnath and Ankur Karmacharya
American Indian Film Festival, San Francisco, Ca
November 3, 2017 (Juried)
ᎠᏴᏓᏆᎶᏍᎩ ᎠᎴ ᎤᎧᏖᎾ Thunder and Uktena
The American Indian Film Institute (AIFI) fosters understanding of the culture, traditions and contemporary issues of Native Americans. AIFI is the major Native American media and cultural art presenter in California and its Festival is the world's oldest and best-known exposition dedicated to Native Americans in cinema.
California's American Indian & Indigenous Film Festival, San Marcos, CA
November 2, 2017 (Juried)
Sun and the Great Frog
The California Indian Culture and Sovereignty Center (CICSC) at California State University San Marcos (CSUSM) presents California's American Indian and Indigenous Film Festival, offering audiences in Southern California the finest work in American Indian film and media on an annual basis.
NPS International Children's Film Festival, Guwahati, India
November, 2017 (Juried)
Sun and the Great Frog
239 films selected to participate in the film festival from a total submission of
652 films.
First Nations Film and Video Festival, Chicago IL
November 1, 2017 (Juried)
ᎠᏴᏓᏆᎶᏍᎩ ᎠᎴ ᎤᎧᏖᎾ Thunder and Uktena
The mission of the First Nations Film and Video Festival is to advocate for and celebrate the works of Native Americans filmmakers and new works and films that break racial stereotypes and promote awareness of Native American issues. All films screened are written and/or produced and directed by Native American artists from the United States, Canada, Central and South America, and Mexico
Visionaria, Siena, Italy
November, 2017 (Juried)
Water is Life
Visionaria is an international short film festival opened to fiction, animation, documentary and video art. Visionaria is also the name of the cultural association that promotes the festival.
Woodengate Film Festival, Baia Mare, Maramures, Romania
October, 2017 (Juried)
ᎠᏴᏓᏆᎶᏍᎩ ᎠᎴ ᎤᎧᏖᎾ Thunder and Uktena
ImagineNATIVE, Toronto, Canada
October 18-22, 2018, (Juried)
ᎠᏴᏓᏆᎶᏍᎩ ᎠᎴ ᎤᎧᏖᎾ Thunder and Uktena
imagineNATIVE is the world's largest presenter of Indigenous screen content. This Festival, Tour, and year-round initiatives showcase, promote, and celebrate Canadian and international Indigenous filmmakers and media artists and create a greater understanding of Indigenous peoples, cultures, and artistic expressions. Curators:
Rhéanne Chartrand is a Métis curator and creative producer based in Toronto. She has spent the past six years creating interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary exhibitions, showcases and festivals for organizations such as Harbourfront Centre, OCAD University, the Art Gallery of Mississauga, the Indigenous Performing Arts Alliance, the Aboriginal Pavilion at the Toronto 2015 Pan Am Games, Kaha:wi Dance Theatre and the National Museum of the American Indian (Washington, DC). Currently, Rhéanne serves as the curator of Indigenous art at McMaster Museum of Art located in Hamilton. Sinara Rozo-Perdomo is a Toronto-based arts administrator, curator and educator. She is the director of the annual aluCine Latin Film+Media Arts Festival, Canada's longest-running and largest showcase dedicated to contemporary Latin cinema and media arts. Her curatorial work has been featured at several festivals in Mexico, Peru, Hungary, USA, Colombia, Brazil, Germany and Canada. Sinara has been working in artist-run environments for over 18 years and has many years’ experience in management capacities. Fallon Simard is an Anishinaabe artist and scholar from Couchiching First Nation from the Grand Council of Treaty #3 Territory. Fallon’s work interrogates state violence and mental health in so far as it is perpetuated on to Indigenous bodies, with a practice comprised of video, sound and animation. They hold a Masters of Art from the Interdisciplinary Masters in Art, Media, and Design Program from OCAD University.
SunChild 7th International Environmental Festival Armenia
October 13-17, 2017 (Juried)
Water is Life
Curators: Steve Bradshaw is an Emmy award-winning UK film-maker and journalist. Levon Galstyan member of coordinating council of Armenian Environmental front Citizens’ Initiative. Azuan Muda is the co-founder of TEEBTV, the “Netflix for Indies”, a multi-platform online media company showcasing independent content based in Jakarta. Bessie Byrne is an award winning environmental filmmaker with a Masters of Journalism. Utpal Borpujari n M.Tech in Applied Geology from Indian Institute of Technology (Roorkee), Utpal Borpujari won the Golden Lotus from the President of India for the Best Film Critic at the 50thNational Film Awards of India in 2003. Armine Vosganian has graduated from both Theatre Acting and Film Directing in 2014 at National University of Theatrical Arts and Cinematography in Bucharest, Romania and a MA Film Making degree at London Film School, UK. Received over 1214 films.
Festival Ciné Alter'Natif, Paris, France
October 5th-14th, 2017 (Juried)
Water is Life
As part of the 8th edition of the Ciné Alter'Natif Festival and in support of indigenous mobilizations in North America against the extraction and exploitation of natural resources on their territories without their free, prior and informed consent. Festival Ciné Alter'Natif, the only festival in France entirely dedicated to Indigenous cinema - films directed/produced by Indigenous artists - since 2009.
Les Films de la Toile, (Semi-Finalist) Saint Denis, France
September 1, 2017 (Juried)
Water is Life
Alternative Film Festival, Toronto, Canada (Award Finalist)
September, 2017 (Juried)
Water is Life
SHORT to the Point, Bucharest Jury
September 13, 2017 (Juried)
Sun and the Great Frog
Factual Animation Film Fuss, London (Award Finalist)
October 7, 2017 (Juried)
Water is Life
Creative Director: Daniel Murtha
Festival Directors: Vikram Ahluwalia and Daniel Murtha
Factual Animation Film Fuss celebrates animated documentary, the only festival of its kind anywhere.
First Round Glass Samsara Environmental Film Festival, (Semi-Finalist) Bangaluru, India October 2, 2017 (Juried)
Water is Life
The International Environmental Film Festival is being organized by RoundGlass to promote the importance of Environmental Consciousness and Conservation.
Native Spirit Film Festival, London, England
October 12, 2017 (Juried)
Native Spirit Foundation was founded by Mapuche leader Freddy Trequil to promote knowledge and awareness of Indigenous Cultures and support longer term projects towards education in Native Schools and Communities.
Life After Oil International Film Festival, Sardegna, Italy
September 22, 2017 (Juried)
Water is Life
LIFE AFTER OIL International Film Festivalwas born in 2014 with the first edition held in Martis, a small town in the Sassari province. The event, the only one of its kind in Sardinia, seeks to raise awareness among the widest possible audience on topics like ecology, environmental sustainability and the creation of alternative energy sources to fossil fuels.
Tribal Film Festival, Tulsa, Ok
September 1, 2017 (Juried)
Water is Life
Cartoon Club, Rimini, Italy
July 17, 2017 (Juried)
Water is Life
Paris Art and Movie Awards, (Award Finalist), Paris, France Jury,
July 3, 2017 (Juried)
Water is Life
The Paris Art and Movie Awards is the leading independent film festival in Paris.
IFF Ekotopfilm, Film Festival, Bratislava, Slovakia
May 22, 2017 (Juried)
Water is Life
IFF Ekotopfilm - Envirofilm with its 45-year tradition is the oldest event of its kind in the world. The festival objective is to inspire and alter people's attitude and relationship towards the environment, providing space for open discussion on sustainability of life on our Planet.
First Nations Film and Video Festival, Chicago Il
May 2, 2017 (Juried)
Water is Life
The mission of First Nations Film and Video Festival is to advocate for and celebrate the works of Native Americans filmmakers and new works and films that break racial stereotypes and promotes awareness of Native American issues. All films screened are written and/or produced and directed by Native American artists from the United States, Canada, Central and South America, and Mexico
International Filmmaker Festival of World Cinema, Nice, France
May 6, 2017 (Juried)
Water is Life
Nice International Filmmaker Festival 2018 is strategically placed a few days before the Cannes International Film Festival in the south of France.
Roma Cinema DOC, Rome, Italy
April 9, 2017 (Juried)
Water is Life
Roma Cinema DOC is a monthly film festival based in Italy, that features the best short films, documentaries and web series from around the world.
Llanberis Mountain Film Festival, (Semi-Finalist), Wales
March 3, 2017 (Juried)
Water is Life
Tampere Film FestivalFilm Festival, Norway
March 1, 2017 (Juried)
Water is Life
Tampere Film Festival brings together over 30,000 film enthusiasts,and is ranked amongst the top three most important short film festivals in the world. The heart of the program is formed by International and National Short Film Competitions. The festival receives approximately 4000 submissions annually. Out of those, an estimated 110 films from 40 countries are selected. The International Competition is amongst the most acknowledged short film competitions in the world. Tampere Film Festival’s International Competition is an Oscar®, BAFTA and EFA qualifying short film competition, meaning the world’s most trusted film organizations let us nominate films for their award categories.
Pakistan International Mountain Film Festival, Islamabad, Pakistan
January, 2017 (Juried)
Water is Life
IMFF is a project conceived and developed by Eyebex Films, a TV production company based in Islamabad Pakistan that specializes in the production of adventure, travel, environment and culture films. PIMFF was held in 2015 and is known to be the first event of its kind ever to be held in Pakistan.
2014 Seattle Film Festival, Seattle, Washington
(Juried)
We Prayed in Water
More than 400 films from 80 countries. 25 days. 155,000 attendees. The largest and most highly-attended film festival in the United States.
Creative Climate, Screening group show, NYC, NY
(Juried)
We Prayed in Water
2009 Cherokee Film Festival, Catoosa, OK (Juried)
2007 Cherokee Film Festival, Tahlequah, OK (Juried)
2006 Animation Celebration, Smithsonian Museum of the American Indian, New York
Native American Film and Video Festival, Smithsonian Museum of the American Indian,
Cherokee Film Festival, Tahlequah, OK (Juried)
2005 Native American Film and Video Festival, Smithsonian Museum of the American Indian, New York (Invited)
Cherokee Film Festival, Tahlequah, OK (Juried)
2004 Native American Film and Video Festival, Smithsonian Museum of the American Indian, New York (Invited)
Taos Film Festival, Taos, NM (Juried)
2003 Native American Film and Video Festival, Smithsonian Museum of the American Indian, New York (Invited)
National Screenings
2019 MINT Film Festival, Billings, Montana
September 19, 2019 (Juried)
First Medicine; The long Man
Twister Alley Film Festival, Woodward, Oklahoma
May 2, 2019 (Juried)
First Medicine; The long Man
Clean Shorts Film Festival, Choctaw, Oklahoma
April 5, 2019 (Juried)
First Medicine; The long Man
2018 Twister Alley Film Festival,Woodward, OK
May 3 – 5, 2018 (Juried)
ᎠᏴᏓᏆᎶᏍᎩ ᎠᎴ ᎤᎧᏖᎾ Thunder and UktenaAwarded Best Short Animation
Clean Shorts Film Festival, Choctaw, Oklahoma
April 6 – 7, 2018 (Juried)
ᎠᏴᏓᏆᎶᏍᎩ ᎠᎴ ᎤᎧᏖᎾ Thunder and Uktena
Tulsa American Film Festival, Tulsa, OK
October 10, 2018 (Juried)
ᎠᏴᏓᏆᎶᏍᎩ ᎠᎴ ᎤᎧᏖᎾ Thunder and Uktena
Tech Doc Fest, Seattle, W ashington
February 1st-3rd, 2018, (Invited&Juried)
Water is Life
As the first and only technology focuses documentary film festival, we present films that best reflect society's history, individuals, organizations, culture and future of technology. We recognize technology's impact on our culture, its effects on the individual and our society as a whole. Through this channel we aim to create a conversation around the positive and negative effects of embracing technology with a goal of exploring our humanity in its midst.
2017 Chellavision Short Film Festival, Indio, California
November 17, 2018, (Juried)
Water is Life
CSFF’s mission is to showcase visionary film artists who push creative boundaries — from the United States and around the world, and to introduce audiences to their work. CSFF will feature programs in the categories of narrative, documentary, music video, animation, experimental and virtual reality projects.
Durango Independent Film Festival, Durango, Colorado
February 28, 2018, (Juried)
ᎠᏴᏓᏆᎶᏍᎩ ᎠᎴ ᎤᎧᏖᎾ Thunder and Uktena
The community of Durango has presented a film festival since 2001, when the Durango Film Festival held its first event. When the Durango Film Festival became inactive in 2005, staff and volunteers from that festival wanted to continue the presence of a community film festival. Within a few months they regrouped to organize The Durango Independent Film Festival (DIFF), and registered with the State of Colorado as a new nonprofit corporation on August 24, 2005
NatiVisions Film Festival, Parker, Arizona
September 28, 2017, (Juried)
Sun and the Great Frog
The NatiVisions Film Festival offers Native American actors, filmmakers, writers, directors an opportunity to present their current work. Over the past 12 years we created a very successful festival to present to the area reaching people throughout the United States. Included every year, several Native-made movies that feature Q&A’s with Native American filmmakers.
Regional Screenings
2019 Bare Bones International Film & Music Festival, Muskogee, Oklahoma,
April 23, 2019,(Juried)
Sun and the Great Frog
Bare Bones International Film & Music Festival is dedicated to screening feature motion picture projects with budgets less than one million dollars. BBIFMF philosophy is to promote and support the efforts of the small budget filmmakers and producers.
2018 Bare Bones International Film & Music Festival, Muskogee, Oklahoma,
April 24, 2018,(Juried)
Water is Life
Bare Bones International Film & Music Festival is dedicated to screening feature motion picture projects with budgets less than one million dollars. BBIFMF philosophy is to promote and support the efforts of the small budget filmmakers and producers.
Copa Shorts Film Fest, Maricopa, Arizona
February 16, 2018, (Juried)
ᎠᏴᏓᏆᎶᏍᎩ ᎠᎴ ᎤᎧᏖᎾ Thunder and Uktena
docLAHOMA, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
January 13, 2018, (Juried)
Water is Life
The docLAHOMA Film Festival occurs twice a year, every January and July in Oklahoma City's historic Film Row District. By emphasizing the art and craft of the documentary, docLAHOMA places a premium on story and character. Whether your film is expository, participatory, exploratory, experimental, observational, or poetic, we want cinema that makes us FEEL as well as LEARN.
2017 Circle Cinema, Tulsa, Oklahoma
November 29, 2017, (Invited)
Water is Life
Circle Cinema is Tulsa’s oldest-standing movie theater that originally opened in 1928 and now operates as the only nonprofit cinema in the area. But we are so much more than your local cinema. We are celebrato rs of creativity, the arts and filmmakers from around the corner and the world. We educate, enlighten and entertain our guests 365 days a year through selected features and programs that expose and connect our community to global issues, environments and cultures.
Social Justice Film Festival, Seattle
November 16, 2017, (Juried)
We Prayed in Water
Through dozens of strategic partnerships with Pacific Northwest organizations working on issues of social justice, the Social Justice Film Festival exhibits a series of short and feature-length documentaries and narrative films broadly related to social justice, with a special focus on prisoner justice in the US. As a movement, social justice promotes a global culture where equality is achieved on all levels. This includes issues pertaining to incarceration, the environment and sustainability, oppression, race and racism, the arts, animal rights, alternative currency and lifestyles, corruption within the system, and so much more. The festival will showcase works that challenge society structures all over the globe on a macro and micro level as well as works that challenge the medium.
First Nations Film and Video Festival, University of Missouri
November 13-15, 2017, (Juried)
Water is Life
Sioux Empire Film Festival, Sioux Falls, South Dakota
May 19, 2017, (Juried)
ᎠᏴᏓᏆᎶᏍᎩ ᎠᎴ ᎤᎧᏖᎾ Thunder and Uktena
The Sioux Empire Film Festival is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization operating in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
2016 Osiyo, TV Show, Voices of the Cherokee People, (TV Series, Regional Emmy winning episode)
Animation and Graphics (invited & contracted)
Water: Take 1, Film Festival, LA, California
December 14, 2016 (Juried)
Trans/Forming Activist Media in the Americas
(invited)
Water is life, Univ. Kansas
(invited)
2015 Camp Cherokee, Planetarium, Cherokee Nation OK
2014 Camp Cherokee, Planetarium, Cherokee Nation OK
stART Project, Norman, Oklahoma
2013 Native Crossroads: Film/Scholarship/Activism, Norman, OK (Invited)
2012 Sedona International Film Festival, Sedona, AZ (Juried)
2010 Native American Film Festival, Sedona, AZ (Juried)
EXHIBITIONS, partial list
National Exhibitions
2018 Travois, First Fridays, Solo Show, August 20th-September 25th, 2018,
Return from Exile, The Museum of the Southeast American Indian, University of North Carolina January 8 - May 12, 2018
2017 Return from Exile, Group Show, Cherokee Heritage Center, Oklahoma (Juried)
Return from Exile, Group Show, Seminole Nation Museum, Wewoka, Oklahoma (Juried)
Homecoming Show, Cherokee Heritage Center, OK (Juried)
2016 Return from Exile, Group Show Cherokee Heritage Center, Park Hill, Oklahoma (Juried)
2015 Cherokee Homecoming show, Tahlequah, OK (Juried)
Trail of Tears Show, Cherokee Heritage Center, Park Hill, OK (Juried)
2014 Trail of Tears Show, Cherokee Heritage Center, Park Hill, OK (Juried)
Cherokee Homecoming show, Cherokee Heritage Center, Park Hill, OK (Juried)
2011 Cherokee Art Market, Cherokee Nation, Catoosa, OK (Juried)
Cherokee Homecoming show, Cherokee Heritage Center, Park Hill, OK (Juried)
Trail of Tears Show, Cherokee Heritage Center, Park Hill, OK (Juried)
2010 Mainsite Contemporary Art, Norman, OK (invited)
Bacone College, Muskogee, OK (invited)
Cherokee Homecoming Show, Cherokee Heritage Center, Park Hill, OK (Juried)
Trail of Tears Show, Cherokee Heritage Center, Park Hill, OK (Juried)
2009 Humor Without Reservation, Tribes 131 Gallery, Norman, OK (Juried)
Cherokee Digital Dialogue, Fred Jones Museum, Norman, OK (Juried)
Cherokee Homecoming Show, Cherokee Heritage Center, Park Hill, OK (Juried)
Trail of Tears Show, Cherokee Heritage Center, Park Hill, OK (Juried)
2008 Cherokee Homecoming show, Cherokee Heritage Center, Park Hill, OK (Juried)
Trail of Tears Show, Cherokee Heritage Center, Park Hill, OK (Juried)
Regional Exhibitions
2017Return from Exile, Group Show, Bardo Arts Center, North Carolina
Return from Exile, Group Show, Dr. J.W. Wiggins Gallery, Sequoyah National Research Center, Little Rock, Arkansas
2016 Return from Exile, Group Show Cherokee Heritage Center, Tahlequah, Oklahoma
Return from Exile, Group Show, Collier County Museum, Naples, Florida
Return from Exile, Group Show, Hardesty Arts Center (AHHA), co-sponsored with Gilcrease Museum, Tulsa, Oklahoma
Cherokee Homecoming Art Show, Tahlequah, OK
Threads of Time, Cherokee Heritage Center, Park Hill, OK (Invited)
Return from Exile, Group Show, Lyndon House Arts Center, Athens, Georgia
2015 Carolina University, Cullowhee, North Carolina
Return from Exile, Group Show, Lyndon House Arts Center, Athens, Georgia
2013 Indian Ink: Native PrinterMakers, Little Rock, AK
Cherokee Homecoming show, Tahlequah, OK
2012 Doukan 7002 Gallery, solo show, Chicago, IL (Invited)
H2OK: Native Response to Water Issues in Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma (Invited)
INVITED PRESENTATIONS, partial list
2024 Slugs & Steins UCSC alumni group
Apple Computers Apple Maps team
Google inc. Google Maps team
2023 Nancy Ward Association Cherokee Nation
2022 THE 25TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION OF THE ST. PETERSBURG
INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC FORUM,
Indgital Research in the Humanities,
University of Kansas, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS
2021“IMW TURTLE ISLAND” Indigenous Storytelling mapping.
Indigenous Storytelling Google’s “Geo for Good” conference
2020 “Tribal Resilience & Indigenous Planning: Storytelling A&B” Tribal Tab
2019 “Cherokee Culture in Storytelling” Massey University, New Zealand
2018 “Cherokee Removal and the rebuilding of a Nation in Indian Territory” Jefferson City,
Mo
2017 “Creating Cherokee Lightening Paper”, Museum of Anthropology,
University of Missouri
Keynote, “Cherokee Storytelling and Digital Inclusion,” Indigenous People's Day
Symposium, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS
Keynote, “Community Strength in Storytelling," 7th Annual University of
Kansas Digital Humanities Forum, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS
Knowing the Stars: The Art, Science, and History of the Stars, Panel University of
Missouri
“Cultural Animation” Cherokee Community Leaders Conference, Tulsa, Ok
“Remembering the Removal Program: Retracing the Steps of Our Ancestors,”
He Manawa Whenua conference, Hamilton, New Zealand
“Indigenous Media from the Cherokee Phoenix to the Present,” (with Will Chavez), Victoria University, Wellington, New Zealand
“Cherokee Animation and Language Technology,” University of Colorado Boulder,
Boulder CO
2016 Native American and Indigenous Studies Association Conference, Honolulu, HI
Native American Symposium, Tahlequah Ok
UCLA, Class Presentation, Cherokee Culture and History
2015 Trail of Tears Annual Conference, Cape Girardeau, Mo
Geo for Good, Google Inc., Mountain View, CA
2014 Keynote, Sherman Chaddlesone Arts and Letters Lecture Series, University of Central Oklahoma, Edmond, OK
Trail of Tears Annual Conference, Memphis, TN
2012 Panel on Indigenous Animation, Native Crossroads: Film/Scholarship Activism,
University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK
Cherokee Language and Technology Conference, Tahlequah, OK
Art and Technology, Doukan 7002 Gallery, Chicago, IL
Cherokee Technology, Northeastern University, Tahlequah, OK
2011 Digital Media and Native Culture, University of New Mexico, NM
Cherokee IT Strategy, Apple Executive Briefing Center, Cupertino, CA Using Technology in a Cherokee Way, TribalNet, Phoenix, AZ Using Technology in a Cherokee Way, Tahlequah, OK Unicode Consortium Conference, Santa Clara, CA Personal Art Practices, FireGod Gallery, Albuquerque, NM
New Media in Indian Country, Gaylord College of Journalism, Norman, OK Cherokee Typography, TypeCon, New Orleans, LA Cherokee Technology, Northeastern University, Tahlequah, OK
2010 Using Technology in a Cherokee Way, Microsoft, Redman, WA Alumni in Entertainment, Penn Spectrum, University of Pennsylvania, PA
Cherokee Nation State of Sequoyah Commission, Tahlequah, OK
2009 Digital Dialogue, Fred Jones Museum, Norman, OK
Panel Discussion of Collection, Fred Jones Museum, Norman, OK
Cherokee Language Preservation, Apple Executive Briefing Center, Cupertino, CA
2008 Cherokee Animation, Smithsonian Museum of the American Indian, New York
GRANTS
2020 Consultant, “Participatory Design Process of an Indigenous Calendar Visualization,”
National Science Foundation “Science, Technology, and Society” 2-year grant, funded, $315,000
2017 Faculty International Travel and Arts & Humanities Domestic Travel $2000 UM Fall
2015 National Park Service Grant, Remember the Removal Program
COMMISSIONS AND COLLECTIONS
3 Episodes of a Cherokee Animation, Cherokee Nation 2020-2024 (invited, proposal, & contracted)
Copper Wall, 30 x 25 foot for the First American Museum, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (invited, juried & contracted) 2021
Searching for Sequoyah Documentary (Head of Animation) Production (2020 April-June)
Clack, Clack! Smack! a picture book by Traci Sorell, illustrated by Joseph Erb, about the fast-paced Cherokee game of stickball; both author and illustrator are enrolled citizens of the Cherokee Nation. Charlesbridge Publishing (Charlesbridge will also publish a Cherokee-language e-book edition). Publication is planned for spring 2023.
“Oil is Life” Film animation and graphics (invited, & contracted)
Cherokee Nation Business, creating three new animation for the New Cherokee Nation Hospital/Medical School Oklahoma State University (invited proposal, & contracted) 2018-2019
Alaska Airlines inFlight Entertainment, We Prayed in Water Fall 2016 (invited & contracted) Fall 2016
Animation Cherokee Nation Natural Resources, Cherokee Nation 2017-2018 (contracted)
Copper Cherokee Gorgets Cherokee Tribal Council, Cherokee Nation (invited proposal, & contracted)
Copper Awards, Cherokee Community Outreach 2015 (invited proposal, & contracted)
Modern Gourd, Fred Jones Museum, 2006 University of Oklahoma (Permit Collection)
Painting, Sequoyah Research Collection, 2005 University of Arkansas (Permit Collection)
Painting, Quartz Mountain Art Institute (Permit Collection)
Painting, Dr. Mark Allen Evert (Permit Collection)
Oklahoma City University School of Law Library (Permit Collection)
Copper Cherokee Gorgets, Cherokee Tribal Council, Cherokee Nation (invited proposal, & contracted) 2015
Painting, Prints, Copper Jewelry, Cherokee Entertainment, Cherokee Nation (invited proposal, & contracted) 2013-2016
PUBLICATIONS (peer-reviewed)
Erb, Joseph, Joanna Hearne and Mark Palmer. “Origin Stories in the Genealogy of Cherokee Language Technology.” Boundary 2 Online, special issue on “The Digital Turn.” 31 July 2018. https://www.boundary2.org/2018/07/hearne/
Hermes, M., Cash, P.C., Donaghy, K., Erb, J., & Penfield, S. (2016), “New Domains for Indigenous Languages.”In Indigenous Language Revitalization in the Americas, T. McCarty & S. Coronel-Molina, (Eds.).“.” New York, NY: Routledge. 23pp.
GRAPHIC PUBLICATIONS
2021 "Anatomy of Indigenous Language in Migration” Illustrator Cover
2019 Book cover, Dr. Courtney Lewis “Sovereign Entrepreneurs”: Cherokee Small Business Owners and the Making of Economic Sovereignty
2018 Book cover, Dr. Daniel Heath Justice, Why Indigenous Literatures Matter
CITATIONS (selected)
McDonnell, B. Native artists create works for OKC's long-awaited First Americans Museum (accessed Sep 13, 2021).
HEADLEE, CELESTE. "Gmail Sends Message in Cherokee."NPR. NPR, 20 Nov. 2012. Web. 22 June 2017.
ICMN Staff. "Google It in Cherokee." Indian Country Media Network. Indian Country, 25 Mar. 2011. Web. 22 June 2017.
Ahtone, Heather. "Joseph Erb, Dreamcatcher 043." Www.dreamcatchermag.net. Dream Catcher, 14 Apr. 2013. Web. 22 June 2017.
Evans, Murray. "Apple's Gadgets Help Preserve a Tribe's Endangered Language." Www.washingtonpost.com. Washington Post, 29 Dec. 2010. Web.
Twist, Kade. "Indigenous Animation Movement Rising." 2007 September/October Feature: Animation. Native People's Magazine, 1 Nov. 2007. Web. 22 June 2017.
TEACHING
University of California, Santa Cruz
2024 Winter
2024 Fall
Independent Study
2023 Winter
FILM-232-01 Audiovisual Ethnography
FILM-197A-01 Special Topics in Animation
2023 Spring
Senior Documentary Workshop
University of Missouri
2022 Spring
DST 4885 Digital Storytelling Animation Production 2
DST 1880 Introduction to Digital Storytelling
DST 4895 Independent Study: Animating Stories
2021 Fall
DST 4885 Digital Storytelling Animation Production 2
DST 1880 Introduction to Digital Storytelling
DST 4895 Independent Study: Animating Stories
2021 Spring
DST 4885 Digital Storytelling Animation Production 2
DST 3005 Topics: Documentary Animation
2020 Fall
DST 4885 Digital Storytelling Animation Production 2
DST_VS 2810 Story Development
2019 Fall – 2020 Spring - Research Leave
2019 Spring
DST 2885 Digital Storytelling Animation Production 1
DST 4885 Digital Storytelling Animation Production 2
DST 4895 Independent Study: Animating Stories
2018 Fall
DST 2885 Digital Storytelling Animation Production 1
DST 1880 Introduction to Digital Storytelling
2 Independent Study: Animating Stories
2018 Spring
Independent Study: Animating Stories
Family Medical Leave, Spring 2018
2017 Fall
DST 2885 Digital Storytelling Animation Production 1
DST 1880 Introduction to Digital Storytelling
DST 4895 Independent Study: Animating Stories
2017 Spring
DST 2885 Digital Storytelling Animation Production 1
DST 1880 Introduction to Digital Storytelling
DST 4005 Topics: Documentary Animation
DST 4895 Independent Study: Animating Stories
2016 Fall
DST 2885 Digital Storytelling Animation Production 1
DST 1880 Introduction to Digital Storytelling
DST 4895 Independent Study: Graphic Design
DST 4895 Independent Study: Modeling and Rendering
2016 Spring
DST 2885 Digital Storytelling Animation Production 1 (2 sections)
DST 1880 Introduction to Digital Storytelling
Northeastern State University
2011 Fall Instructor, Cherokee Language Technology
University of Pennsylvania
2002 SpringSculpture 1, Instructor
Animation 1, TA
2001 Fall 3D Design, TA
Animation 1, TA
2001 Spring Animation 1, TA
Figure Sculpture, TA
Student Awards/Internships
Maggie Noble, Grand Prize 2018 Visual Art & Design Showcase
True/False work, Maggie was also hired to create a promotional animation for True/False Film Festival
Carlos Romious, Juried Film Festival selection "Cefalu Film Festival," Palermo, Italy
Mark Mavel, Independent Study, Internship with StoryUP to create data-driven VR escapes for areas of acute stress using BCI (brain computer interface).
Benjamin Willis-Teff Student, in DTS 1880, Awards for Excellence in Undergraduate Research at Undergraduate Research & Creative Achievements Forum tomorrow, April 27, 2016
GUEST LECTURES
September 2019, “Cherokees in Media” JOUR 2000, Cross Cultural Journalism Studies (Prof. Cristina Mislán, Ph.D
September 2018, “Cherokees in Media” JOUR 2000, Cross Cultural Journalism Studies (Prof. Cristina Mislán, Ph.D
February 2018,“Cherokee Sky Stories” Astronomy (Prof. Angela Speck, Ph.D.)
September 2017, “Cherokees in Media” JOUR 2000, Cross Cultural Journalism Studies (Prof. Cristina Mislán, Ph.D.)
September 2017, “Cherokee Language Technology and the Expansion of Languages on Digital Devices” JOUR 3510, Think Global: Fundamentals of Globalization and Digital Technologies (Prof. Monika Fischer, Ph.D.)
February 2017, “Cherokee Language Technology and the Expansion of Languages on Digital Devices” JOUR 3510, Think Global: Fundamentals of Globalization and Digital Technologies (Prof. Monika Fischer, Ph.D.)
February 2017, “Indigenous Digital Media,” English 8110: Global Indigenous Media, (Prof. Joanna Hearne, Ph.D.)
April 2017, “Cherokee Music, Sound, and Ritual Dance,” World Music (Prof. Stephanie Shonekan Ph.D.)
UNIVERSITYSERVICE
University of Missouri
2022 President's Task Force on Native American Issues at MU
Native American Heritage Month Committee, Chair
Grad studies committee SVS
Curriculum Committee SVS
2021 Native American Heritage Month Committee, Chair
Grad studies committee SVS
Curriculum Committee SVS
2020 Native American Heritage Month Committee, Chair
Welcome to new faculty, representing Indigenous faculty
Native American and Indigenous Studies (NAIS) Faculty Advisory Committee
2019Taste of Arts and Sciencepresentation
Hiring Committee for Native Faculty member
Indigenous Video and Film Festival MU Committee, Chair
Diversity Committee of Arts and Science committee member
Digital Storytelling Program Faculty Advisory Committee
Native American and Indigenous Studies (NAIS) Faculty Advisory Committee
2018 Hiring Committee for Digital Storytelling and Film Studies
Native American Heritage Month Committee, Chair
Digital Storytelling Program Faculty Advisory Committee
Native American and Indigenous Studies (NAIS) Faculty Advisory Committee
Diversity Committee of Arts and Science committee member
2017 Native American Heritage Month Committee, Chair
Spring 2017-Present (raised over $18,000)
Indigenous Video and Film Festival MU Committee, Chair
Strategic Enrollment Management Committee (SEM)
Digital Storytelling Program Faculty Advisory Committee
Native American and Indigenous Studies (NAIS) Faculty Advisory Committee
(created a NAIS minor, pilot introductory course, and in-state tuition recruitment program for Native students) Fall 2016- Present
Diversity Committee of Arts and Science committee member
Spring 2017 (raised $3,000 for stipends from faculty workshop)
“MIZ in KC” and “Mizzou in St. Louis” talk for MU College of Arts & Science
alumni in Kansas City and St. Louis, April 2017
2016 Digital Storytelling Program Faculty Advisory Committee
Digital Storytelling and Film Studies Faculty Hiring Committee
Native American and Indigenous Studies (NAIS) Faculty Advisory Committee
(created a NAIS minor, pilot introductory course, and in-state tuition recruitment program for Native students)
TRIO FIG Program faculty mentor
PROFESSIONAL AND COMMUNITY SERVICE
2021-2022 UNESCO committee for the decade of World Indigenous languages
2016-2020 Board of Directors for the Remember the Removal Alumni, elected
2015-2019 Board Member Elect, Trail of Tears Association of Oklahoma, elected
2015-2020 Consultant, Remember the Removal Program, Cherokee Nation
2014-2015 Coordinator, Remember the Removal program
2011-2014 Video and Digital Arts Instructor, Camp Cherokee summers
2003-2011 Scholarships Committee, Cherokee Nation Foundation
2006-2008 Animation Workshops, Smithsonian/National Museum of the American Indian
2002-2006 Animation Storytelling Instructor, American Indian Resource Center
2008-2010 Apple training workshops, Cherokee Immersion School
CONSULTING
Cherokee Nation’s Outreach to tech companies
Tribal Tab -Indigenous Storytelling advisement
Sequoyah Birthplace Museum, 2018 spring
Reviewing production, scripts and displays, for the new media, films and Language projects for the Museum.
Osage Nation Language Department, Advisement on Unicode 2016-2017
Setting up an advisory plan for the Osage language to be adopted in to computer operating systems
Apple Inc., Advisement on Cherokee fonts and keyboards 2008-Present
Continued advisement on new technology related to the Cherokee Glyphs andkeyboards
Apple Inc, Advisement on Cherokee handwriting for IOS 2016 Summer
Continued advisement on new technology related to the handwritten Cherokee glyphs
Google Maps, Advisement on Tribal Nations’ Boundaries 2014-Present
Advisement on Nationhood of tribal governments and GIS boundaries
Cherokee Nation Remember the Removal 2016-Present
Advisement of scheduling, logistics, and planning of the Remember the Removal
program.
Google, Advisement on Cherokee fonts, keyboards and localization projects 2010-2015
Consulted on new technology related to the Cherokee Glyphs and keyboards
Search Engine and Gmail 2011-2014
Consulted on new translations and community organizing of translations related to the Cherokee versions of Google Search Engine and Gmail
Mono-type, Advisement on Cherokee fonts 2013-2014 Cherokee font design advisement
Ready to Make Words Work Overtime?
Tell me what’s rattling around in your head, and let’s turn it into copy that clocks in early and leaves its competition on read.