Cydnee Weber

Cydnee Weber is a descendant of the Cherokee Nation and Pamunkey Indian Tribe. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign where she majored in History. During her time at UIUC, she was a Student Ambassador for the Native American House, Intern for Japan House and a Brave Heart Fellow for the Center for Native American Youth. Currently, she works as a Teaching Assistant for Japan House and is the Executive Leadership Fellow for Rematriation. When it comes to the arts, Cydnee has experience in beadwork, ribbon skirt making, Japanese tea ceremonies, calligraphy and flower arrangements.

What I think of coming home for Indigenous people is for us to be able to return to our traditional homelands after centuries of displacement. This was what I conveyed through this piece, which was inspired by ledger art. I chose to draw different elements which are important to different Cherokee traditions on a Cherokee Roll. I chose elements from different Cherokee stories to show our connection to place and our traditional homelands. This connection is in spite of us being away from our homelands which is represented in the choice of using a “roll” as a canvas.