Sterlin Harjo , an Emmy-nominated Native American writer, director and producer based in Tulsa, has been chosen to receive the esteemed award commonly known as a MacArthur “Genius Grant.”
Harjo, 44, is part of a class of 22 artists, writers, historians, scientists and other creatives from across the country to be picked as 2024 MacArthur Fellows by the Chicago-based John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.
“The 2024 MacArthur Fellows pursue rigorous inquiry with aspiration and purpose. They expose biases built into emerging technologies and social systems and fill critical gaps in the knowledge of cycles that sustain life on Earth,” MacArthur Fellows Director Marlies Carruth said in a statement.
“Their work highlights our shared humanity, centering the agency of disabled people, the humor and histories of Indigenous communities, the emotional lives of adolescents, and perspectives of rural Americans.”
Each fellow receives a “no-strings-attached” $800,000 award to be paid out in equal quarterly installments over five years.