Joseph ᎧᎾᏘ Lewis Erb is an associate professor at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and an enrolled citizen of the Cherokee Nation. As a versatile film director, producer, computer animator, and language technologist, Erb created “The Beginning They Told,” the first-ever Cherokee animation produced in the Cherokee language. Dedicated to indigenous language preservation, he spent years expanding Cherokee representation in technology and media. Additionally, he leverages his artistic expertise to teach Muscogee Creek and Cherokee students how to animate their own traditional stories.
