Joseph Erb

Joseph Erb (Cherokee) is an award-winning artist, filmmaker, and digital media specialist. The son of a Cherokee mother and a white father, Joseph Erb gained an appreciation for his rich indigenous heritage from family, friends and community people. He received his BFA in art from Oklahoma City University, where he produced the first short animated film based on a traditional Cherokee story in the Cherokee language as his MFA thesis at the University of Pennsylvania.

After graduation from OCU, Erb returned home to Oklahoma, where he continues to combine his varied interest in art, traditional storytelling, language preservation, and the teaching of children. His Muscogee Creek and Cherokee students have produced native language animations, learning both new technology and their own traditional culture.

Joseph’s artistic work and teaching is done to perpetuate the Cherokee culture and language. His work is another continuation of the Cherokee storytelling.

Joseph is also a painter, gourd artist, and silversmith.