Joseph Erb (Cherokee Nation Citizen)  is an artist, computer animator, film producer, and educator enrolled in the Cherokee Nation. He is an assistant professor at the University of Missouri in the School of Visual Studies. Joseph has spent much of his life working to integrate Cherokee language into the latest technologies. In 2002, Erb created the first ever Native American computer animation, as well as the first ever computer animation in the Cherokee language titled, “The Beginning They Told”.  He has taught animation to Muscogee Creek and Cherokee students using traditional stories in their own Native language.

Erb has spent years working on projects that expanded the use of the Cherokee language in technologies and new media. These projects resulted in several successes such as; Cherokee language on the iPhone, Cherokee Google Search engine, Gmail in Cherokee, Facebook in Cherokee and Microsoft Operating System Windows 8 in Cherokee. He helped to create working relationships between Cherokee Nation and technology companies such as Apple, Google, Facebook and Microsoft that still exist today. His award-winning digital stories are shown in film festivals across the world.  In 2016 he received the Cherokee Nation Community Leadership award and in 2017 he received the Cherokee Nation Community Organization award for strengthening the Cherokee language and culture, including the Remember the Removal program.  His work crosses many disciplines in service to Cherokee community, culture, and language.