The University of Tulsa Presidential Lecture Series welcomed guest lecturer Sterlin Harjo to the Reynolds Center on Oct. 19, 2022.
Sterlin Harjo (Seminole/Muscogee) is an award-winning filmmaker and co-creator of Reservation Dogs, a comedy series following four Indigenous teens in Oklahoma. Now in its second season (and recently renewed for a third season), Reservation Dogs has won a Peabody award, Television Academy Honors award and Independent Spirit Award. It was an American Film Institute Awards honoree and won Best Breakthrough Series Under 40 Minutes at the 2021 Gotham Awards.
Harjo’s series Poster Girls is in development with FX; Paramount+ recently acquired his series Yellowbird; and LeBron James’ company, SpringHill, is producing Rezball (Netflix), a series Harjo co-wrote.
Harjo has created and directed five feature films. His first, Four Sheets to the Wind, premiered at Sundance Film Festival in 2007 and was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize. His feature documentary, This May Be the Last Time, premiered at Sundance in 2014. Each of his films are set in Oklahoma and address contemporary Indigenous experiences.
Thanks to the Darcy O’Brien Endowed Chair, TU’s Presidential Lecture Series is always free and open to the public. Before the event, Harjo met with a small group of TU students, and Q&A followed the public lecture.