Laney Cully is a student and basketmaker who grew up in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, as a citizen of the Cherokee Nation. She graduated from Northeastern State University in 2023 with a bachelor’s degree in two-dimensional studio art and anthropology. In 2024, she moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico, to pursue a second bachelor’s degree in museum studies at the Institute of American Indian Arts.

She learned the art of Cherokee flat reed basketry from her grandmother and Cherokee National Treasure Thelma Forrest. Laney continues to work with flat reed professionally as an artist, demonstrator and teacher of Cherokee basketry. She plans to graduate in fall 2026 and continue her work in museums and archives.