Johnathon David Thompson is a Kituwah Preservation and Education Program graduate, currently entering his Sophomore year at Cherokee High School.  He has assisted his grandmother, Mary W Thompson instruct a river cane class at the National Basketry Organization conference in Bowling Green, KY.  He has assisted in a juried exhibition at Arrowmont School of Art in Gatlinburg, TN.  From a young age, he is immersed in culture and craft, assisting with cane gathering, harvesting white oak, dying, and processing splits.  His current artistic creations include canvas paintings, tile paintings, and painting gourd birdhouses.