Long Con is a series of conversations between Director Sterlin Harjo and Artist Cannupa Hanska Luger about life, art, film, history and everything in between - informally shared from the lens of two contemporary Native American artists and friends actively participating in the record of the 21st century. This is the seventh episode of this series, recorded live in person in Tulsa, Oklahoma in October 2024.

For this episode of the Long Con, Cannupa visits Tulsa, Oklahoma for 48 hours for an artist talk and the two artists take advantage of the opportunity to have a recording session for the Long Con series. They begin the convo on a car drive out to Sterlin’s property. In the true nature of this series we dip into UFO’s, Deadman’s thumbprints, Tarantula’s and coffee shop etiquette, among other random stories.
They discuss the nuance of the city of Tulsa, the current state of Native Art, the economics and precarious nature of popularity and how that may impact a larger community when culture is trending in a market. They touch on land acknowledgements, question and answer: who decides what Native Art is and how that demographic has shifted through the generations. There’s mention of Oscar Howe and his infamous letter to the Philbrook Museum, the legendary artist Bob Houzous and others who have bent an arc between generations of artists pushing boundaries for decades. We arrive at Sterlin’s house and the second segment of the conversation features tales from the real ‘Uncle Brownie’, Sterlin’s dad. Brownie shares stories about his upbringing in Sasakwa, Oklahoma, his experiences as a self taught karate instructor and about the character ‘Uncle Brownie, from Reservation Dogs. Rounding out this long con(versation), Brownie imparts some advice to us in the younger generations to remember to be accountable— that there is an obligation to past and future generations to set a good example. As the artists head back into the city, we get a wave from Sterlin’s mom and tune into one of Sterlin’s favorite tracks “Hometown Hero” from local Oklahoma singer/ songwriter, J.R. Carroll.

About the artists:

Sterlin Harjo is an award winning Seminole/Muscogee Creek filmmaker who has directed three feature films and a feature documentary all of which address the contemporary Native American lived experience. Sterlin is a founding member of the five-member Native American comedy group, The 1491s. Sterlin’s latest project Reservation Dogs, is a television show created in collaboration with Taika Waititi, now available to watch on FX.

Cannupa Hanska Luger is a multidisciplinary artist who creates monumental and situational installations and durational performance and often initiates community participation and social collaboration. Raised on the Standing Rock Reservation in North Dakota, he is an enrolled member of the Three Affiliated Tribes of Fort Berthold and is Mandan, Hidatsa, Arikara and Lakota.