Sterlin Harjo and Joy Harjo are two prominent Native American artists who have made significant contributions to the fields of film, poetry, music, and literature. But are they related by blood or by name only? This article will explore their backgrounds, achievements, and possible connections.
Who is Sterlin Harjo?
Sterlin Harjo is an American filmmaker who has directed three feature films, a feature documentary, and the FX comedy series Reservation Dogs, all of them set in his home state of Oklahoma and concerned primarily with Native American people and content.
Harjo was born in 1979 in Holdenville, Oklahoma. He is a citizen of the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma who also has Muscogee heritage. He attended the University of Oklahoma, where he studied art and film.
Harjo’s first feature film, Four Sheets to the Wind, tells the story of a young Seminole man who travels from his small home town to Tulsa to visit his sister after the death of their father. The film premiered at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival, where it was nominated for the grand jury prize. Harjo was named best director at the 2007 American Indian Film Festival.
Harjo’s second feature, Barking Water, premiered at the 2009 Sundance festival. It portrays a road trip by a dying man and his former lover across Oklahoma to see his daughter and granddaughter in Wewoka, the capital of the Seminole Nation. Barking Water was named best drama film at the 2009 American Indian Film Festival.
Harjo’s first feature documentary, This May Be the Last Time, is based on the story of Harjo’s grandfather, who disappeared in 1962 in the Seminole County town of Sasakwa. It explores the subject of Creek Nation hymns and their connection to Scottish folk, gospel and rock music. The film premiered at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival and its distribution rights were subsequently acquired by AMC/Sundance Channel Global for the Sundance Channel.
Harjo’s third feature film, Mekko, a thriller set in Tulsa, premiered at the Los Angeles Film Festival in June 2015.
Harjo has also directed a number of short-form projects. He is a founding member of a five-member Native American comedy group, the 1491s. He has taught at several universities and received numerous awards and fellowships for his work.
Who is Joy Harjo?
Joy Harjo is an American poet, musician, playwright, and author. She served as the 23rd United States Poet Laureate, the first Native American to hold that honor. She was also only the second Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to have served three terms (after Robert Pinsky). Harjo is a member of the Muscogee Nation (Este Mvskokvlke) and belongs to Oce Vpofv (Hickory Ground). She is an important figure in the second wave of the literary Native American Renaissance of the late 20th century.
Harjo was born in 1951 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. She studied at the Institute of American Indian Arts, completed her undergraduate degree at University of New Mexico in 1976, and earned an MFA degree at the University of Iowa in its creative writing program.
Harjo is the author of ten books of poetry, and three children’s books. Her books include Weaving Sundown in a Scarlet Light (2022), Catching the Light (2022), Poet Warrior (2021), An American Sunrise (2019), Conflict Resolution for Holy Beings (2015), Crazy Brave (2012), and How We Became Human: New and Selected Poems 1975–2002 (2004), among others. She has also written a memoir, a play, and several essays and anthologies.
Harjo is also a musician who plays saxophone and flute. She has released seven albums of her original music, blending jazz, rock, blues, reggae, traditional Native American music, and spoken word. Her albums include I Pray for My Enemies (2021), Red Dreams: A Trail Beyond Tears (2010), Winding Through The Milky Way (2008), She Had Some Horses (2006), Native Joy for Real (2004), Letter from The End Of The Twentieth Century (1997), and Never Ending Song (1991).
Harjo has taught in numerous United States universities, performed internationally at poetry readings and music events, and received many honors and awards for her work. She has also founded For Girls Becoming, an art mentorship program for young Mvskoke women and is a Founding Board Member and Chair of the Native Arts & Cultures Foundation. Her signature project as U.S. Poet Laureate was called Living Nations, Living Words: A Map of First Peoples Poetry; it focused on “mapping the U.S. with Native Nations poets and poems”.
Are Sterlin Harjo and Joy Harjo Related?
According to their Wikipedia pages, Sterlin Harjo and Joy Harjo do not share any immediate family ties. They have different parents, siblings, spouses, and children. However, they do share some commonalities in their backgrounds, such as being born and raised in Oklahoma, having Muscogee ancestry, and belonging to the same clan (Oce Vpofv or Hickory Ground).
They also share a professional relationship as fellow artists and collaborators. Sterlin Harjo has interviewed Joy Harjo for his podcast The Cuts with Sterlin Harjo, where they discussed their personal and artistic journeys. He has also featured her poetry and music in
