TULSA – Cherokee filmmaker Jeremy Charles will soon have his name set in concrete outside a storied movie theater with three other Oklahomans honored by the Circle Cinema for work in film and the arts.
Circle Cinema recently announced that Charles, founder of Tulsa-based, Cherokee-owned Pursuit Films, is among those selected to the 2026 class of the theater’s Walk of Fame. He will be inducted with actress and former Miss USA Olivia Jordan and two posthumous inductees: composer Ralph Blane and cinematographer Lucien Ballard, also of Cherokee descent.
Charles has run his studio adjacent to the Circle for about 15 years but was unsure how he came to be considered. He did mention his lengthy history with those who keep the theater running.
“I’ve gotten to know all of them very well over the years,” he said.
It has been a big year for Charles. His most recent documentary, “Return of the Sacred Red Rock,” took Best Documentary Jury Award at the Circle Cinema Film Festival. The film recounts the Kaw Nation’s years-long effort to reclaim In’zhúje waxóbe, a 28-ton sacred quartzite boulder taken from along the Kansas River in the 19th century, and return it from Lawrence, Kansas, to Allegawaho Memorial Heritage Park in Council Grove.
Charles was attracted to the project through his studio’s relationship with the First Americans Museum in Oklahoma City, where Pursuit Films designed exhibits and worked with former executive director James Pepper Henry, a Kaw Nation citizen who helped effect the stone’s return.
“He trusted us from our previous work with the First Americans Museum and kind of brought us on board to do that,” Charles said.
Pursuit Films, founded by Charles in 2014, has established a reputation for telling Indigenous stories from an inside perspective. He was co-creator of “Osiyo, Voices of the Cherokee People,” which has now amassed more than 30 regional Emmys – including his Best Director honor in 2017. Other credits include the Cherokee-language animated series “Inage’i” and a Cherokee-language contemporary music album.
“The vision was always to celebrate Cherokee people and hand them the microphone,” Charles told Circle Cinema. “In Indian Country it’s still rare for tribes to tell their own stories, and that’s what gets me out of bed every day.”
Charles said proximate recognition carries a distinct significance.
“This feels a little bit different to be seen by the local community for the work we’ve been doing,” he said. “It feels really good to be recognized by Tulsa.”
He mentioned his mother, his Cherokee heritage and his children when he pondered the medallion being set in the sidewalk.
“I think about my mom, and I think about the Cherokee people, and I think about my kids and how they’ll be able to go there long after I’m gone and see my name,” Charles said. “There’s a special kind of feeling about that.”
Born in Oologah and an alumnus of Oklahoma State University, Charles started as a writer and photographer before shifting to filmmaking in 2014. His years working with the CN molded what he sees as his responsibilities behind the lens.
“It’s really just changed my worldview about uplifting Indigenous voices into the mainstream and giving Native people the microphone to tell their own stories,” he said. “It really has a huge effect on the way people see themselves.”
The induction ceremony is July 15 – the opening day of the Circle Cinema Film Festival – with a reception at 6 p.m. followed by the ceremony at 7:30. The public unveiling of the new medallions follows outside the theater.
Attendees will have several chances to see “Return of the Sacred Red Rock.” The film premieres July 17 at 7 p.m. in Screen 2, followed by a Q&A and reception, with additional showings on July 20, at 1:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. in Screen 2 and at 2 p.m. in Screen 3.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.cherokeephoenix.org ’
