Honoring Tradition, Inspiring the Future: Ahnawake Dahn Toyekoyah and Kea Peters

We are thrilled to welcome two outstanding fellows from the 2025 First People’s Funds Cultural Capital (CC) program!  These visionary artists and entrepreneurial leaders exemplify resilience, having honed their skills through dedication and self-determination. While they come from diverse backgrounds, both use digital media as a powerful platform to create visual art, share their cultural narratives, and grow their career and business. We look forward to witnessing their creativity flourish, and their professional journeys evolve through the support of the First Peoples Fund fellowships.

Cultural Capital Fellows

Ahnawake Dahn Toyekoyah (Cauigu Kiowa), a 2025 Cultural Capital fellow, specializes in ledger art through acrylic painting and digital media. Her latest project with First Peoples Fund brings together her artistic talents and cultural heritage to create a children's book in her Indigenous language—passing down traditional stories to her Oklahoma community. 

For Ahnawake, art has always been more than expression; it’s a connection to her roots. "From a young age, art has been my sanctuary—a place where words may fail, but creativity thrives," she says. Her family deeply shaped her artistic journey, from the encouragement of her grandmother to the legacy of her great-grandfather, who designed their tribe’s Oklahoma seal. "It’s a big part of us," she reflects.

With degrees in environmental science from Haskell Indian Nations University, Ahnawake found ways to intertwine her education with her art, often incorporating cultural and environmental symbols like sweetgrass and sage. Her work addressing climate change and Native rights has been featured at universities, including the University of New Mexico and Kansas State University.

Drawing from the stories passed down in her family, Ahnawake embraces ledger art to blend tradition with contemporary themes, celebrating Indigenous resilience. "My goal is to create pieces that resonate with my community and beyond, honoring the past while inspiring future generations."

Her upcoming children's book—deeply inspired by her son—will compile traditional stories in English and her Indigenous language, illustrated in her signature style. "I want him to grow up and say, 'That's my mom’s work. She made this.'" She’s already planning a second book focused on teaching children their ABCs and numbers in their language. Once published, Ahnawake intends to give back by distributing 100 copies to her community, ensuring these stories live on for generations to come.

Brittany Keakaokalani Hashisaka-Peters (Native Hawaiian), known as "Kea Peters," is a 2025 Cultural Capital Fellow from O‘ahu, Hawai‘i. She is the founder and illustrator of Kākou Collective, an organization dedicated to strengthening connections to Hawai‘i through original artwork.

Kea’s journey began with pen and ink drawing before she transitioned to graphic design, earning a degree in Communication Arts from Honolulu Community College. Mastering tools like Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator, she worked as an in-house designer for Native Hawaiian businesses, creating everything from packaging and websites to vehicle wraps and digital ads. But juggling design, marketing, and sales alone left her overwhelmed. Seeking balance, she turned to modern calligraphy, teaching herself to write ‘Ōlelo No‘eau—Hawaiian proverbs—in her journal. Sharing these designs on social media, she found unexpected support and growing interest.

A turning point came when 2013 Community Spirit Award Honoree Vicky Holt Takamine invited Kea to lead a hand-lettering workshop—something she had never done before. Embracing the challenge, she taught herself how to plan and teach, leading to more workshops rooted in Native Hawaiian culture. Inspired by her childhood in her grandmother’s backyard and time spent outdoors with her husband and son, Kea used the environment as her classroom, teaching others to illustrate native Hawaiian plants and flowers.

As demand for her work grew, what started as personal projects evolved into a full-fledged business. Kākou Collective now offers Hawaiian-inspired notebooks, planners, and stickers, providing creative outlets for others to engage with their language and culture.

“For Indigenous people, it’s essential to feel a sense of belonging in their own space, wherever they are,” Kea says. “I want to inspire future generations to see the world through their own eyes, learn from their elders, and continue passing on our cultural knowledge.”

For her fellowship project, Kea is creating a mindfulness-focused coloring book series that educates and uplifts her community. Committed to authenticity, she insists on producing the books locally. “I don’t think you can educate about Hawai‘i and give back to Hawai‘i without making it here—if it can be made here.”

Balancing her roles as an artist, entrepreneur, and mother, Kea remains dedicated to empowering others through creativity, ensuring Native Hawaiian culture thrives in the modern world.

With support from First Peoples Fund, Ahnawake Toyekoyah and Kea Peters shine as self-taught artists and business leaders, weaving culture, community, and pride into their work. Blending traditional storytelling, language, and the environment with modern graphic design and digital media, they create art that teaches, connects, and empowers. As mothers and community leaders, they use their craft to uplift and inspire, ensuring Indigenous voices and stories thrive.