Annawon Weeden (Mashpee  Wampanoag/Pequot/Narragansett) was born and raised in his father’s Tribal community of Charlestown Rhode Island, learning the history of his Narragansett/Pequot lineage, Annawon is an enrolled member of his mother’s Wampanoag community located in Mashpee, MA.  Following in his father's footsteps, Annawon began sharing the culture of his tribes along with his family during public programs/performances at a very young age.  As an adult, Annawon's passion for preserving the culture has been made clear throughout decades spent working at institutions such as Plimoth Plantation & Boston Children's Museum & most recently employed as Cultural Instructor for the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation Cultural Resource Department in CT.  Currently self-employed visiting schools, colleges, museums, libraries, birthdays and more, Annawon has found many creative ways to educate any audience.

On stage or in the classroom, his ability to share his Tribal culture has been sought after by world renowned institutions. Having appeared at prestigious venues such as Smithsonian, National Geographic, Scholastic, PBS, History/Discovery Channel,  Alaska Native Heritage Center, Harvard University, Tennessee Tech & many more. In addition, his cultural expertise has been called upon by such international government agencies as: Bermuda Ministry of Cultural Affairs, U.S. National Park Service & most recently his Congressional honor as culture & arts bearer for the region. All of the work Annawon does falls under the umbrella of his organization, the First Light Foundation  firstlightfoundation.net