Sterlin Harjo is a member of the Seminole Nation with Muskogee heritage, born on November 14, 1979. He was raised in Holdenville, Oklahoma, and attended the University of Oklahoma, where he studied art and film.
Harjo received a fellowship from the Sundance Institute in 2004, and his short film, Goodnight, Irene, premiered at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival, receiving a special jury award at the Aspen Shortfest. He received another fellowship from the United States Artists foundation in 2006.
Harjo's feature film debut, Four Sheets to the Wind, tells the story of a young Seminole man's journey to visit his sister in Tulsa after the death of their father. The film premiered at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival, where it was nominated for the grand jury prize, and Harjo was named best director at the 2007 American Indian Film Festival.
His second feature film, Barking Water, premiered at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival and portrays a road trip by a dying man and his former lover across Oklahoma to see his daughter and granddaughter. 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 his grandfather, who disappeared in 1962, and explores the connection between Creek Nation hymns and various music genres. The film premiered at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival.
His third feature film, Mekko, a thriller set in Tulsa, premiered at the 2015 Los Angeles Film Festival and tells the story of a homeless Native American parolee's quest to save his community from darkness. Harjo has also directed several short-form projects, including the 2009 short film Cepanvkuce Tutcenen (Three Little Boys) as part of the Embargo Collective project.
As a staff video director for This Land Press in Tulsa, Harjo has directed a series of shorts. He was a member of the 2010 Sundance shorts competition jury and is a founding member of the Native American comedy group The 1491s.
Harjo is also one of the directors of the Cherokee Nation's monthly television news magazine, Osiyo, Voices of the Cherokee People, produced by Fire Thief Productions, a Native American production company he co-founded with Cherokee photographer Jeremy Charles.
