From Holdenville to Hollywood – Sterlin Harjo, filmmaker

Welcome to Tulsa Talks presented by Tulsa Regional Chamber. I’m your host Tim Landes. 

When many people think of Native Americans in the movies and television, they think of savages who are the sworn enemy of the white hat cowboy. Or maybe they take in a lost white man and show them their ways. There’s always face paint and teepees. If it deals with modern issues, it’s often the FBI or the government coming in to help the tribe solve a crime. 

My guest on this episode is doing all he can to change all that. Sterlin Harjo is a Seminole and Muscogee Creek filmmaker, who calls Tulsa home. 

He recently wrapped production on the pilot for his FX show “Reservation Dogs.” It’s a semi-autobiographical story about being a teen on a reservation. He’s working on the project with his friend and mentor, Oscar winner Taika Waititi, who collected an Academy Award earlier this year making him the first indigenous winner ever... in 2020.

I’ve known Sterlin for many years. In our past I worked for Cherokee Nation Businesses when he co-created Osiyo, Voices of the Cherokee People, which shares the stories and history about my tribe.  

He’s made three feature films and multiple documentaries, directed TV shows and has more projects in the works, including with my favorite actor Ethan Hawke. You’ll be able to hear my excitement when he talks some about that project. 

We discuss native representation in Hollywood, and how he’s serving as a trailblazer to end Hollywood stereotypes and create stories today’s native population can relate to while educating others. We also discuss his work with the popular Native comedy troupe The 1491s, which continues to find ways to create comedy during the pandemic. 

It’d been a while since Sterlin and I got to have a lengthy chat, so we had lots to talk about when we recorded this conversation by phone a couple weeks ago.  

This is a fun one, and also an important conversation. After you’ve listened to it give us a rating and subscribe to ensure you’re alerted when our next episode drops.

Ok, let’s get this going.

This is Tulsa Talks with Sterlin Harjo.