Sierra Teller Ornelas

Sierra Nizhoni Teller Ornelas (born 1981)[1] is a Navajo and Mexican American showrunner, screenwriter, filmmaker and weaver from Tucson, Arizona. She is the co-creator of the scripted comedy series Rutherford Falls, alongside Ed Helms and Mike Schur.[2][3] Known for writing and production work on shows such as Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Happy Endings, Splitting Up Together and Superstore, she has written and contributed to This American Life and the New York Times.[4] In 2019 Ornelas signed a multi-year development deal with Universal Television beginning with the Peacock sitcom Rutherford Falls.[4][2]

Sierra Teller Ornelas
Born1981 (age 39–40)
Tucson, Arizona
EducationUniversity of Arizona
Television
  • Brooklyn Nine-Nine
  • Happy Endings
  • Rutherford Falls
  • Superstore

Ornelas is from Tucson, Arizona.[4][5] Born to the Edge Water clan, her maternal grandfather is Water Flowing Together clan and her paternal grandfather is Mexican clan.[6] She attended the University of Arizona, where she studied media arts.[7] Following graduation she worked for five years as a film programmer at the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington D.C..[4][8]

In 2010 Ornelas was selected to participate in the Disney/ABC Television Group's diversity writing program.[9] Following the end of the program she was asked to continue on as a staff writer on Happy Endings.[10][11] The position allowed her to contribute to a sub-plot in which Dave, played by Zachary Knighton, discovers he is one-sixteenth Navajo and begins playing into stereotypes about Native Americans.[10][11] Ornelas explained in a 2011 interview with the Navajo Times that if done right, comedy can be a way to "get conversation going about very dense, complicated issues."[10]

Diversity in writers' rooms and ensuring that racialized people aren't the only one working on a production is an area Ornelas is committed to addressing in media.[11] As the showrunner of Rutherford Falls she oversees a writers room that includes herself, Helms, Schur and four other Indigenous writers - Tazbah Chavez, Tai Leclaire, Jana Schmieding, and Bobby Wilson - the number of which is believed to be a first for a major television production.[3]

In addition to writing and producing, Ornelas is an award-winning sixth-generation Navajo weaver.[4][7] Her film A Loom with a View: Modern Navajo Weavers, made for the Arizona State Museum, chronicles the weaving of her mother, Barbara Teller Ornelas; aunt, Margaret Yazzie; and brother, Micheal Teller Ornelas.[7][1]

References
  1. Schmitt, Rory O'Neill (2016). Navajo and Hopi Art in Arizona: Continuing Traditions. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 978-1-62585-560-2. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
  2. Montpelier, Rachel (20 November 2019). "Sierra Teller Ornelas Signs Multi-Year Overall Deal with Universal Television". womenandhollywood.com. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
  3. Tennant, Zoe (7 February 2020). "Rutherford Falls brings Indigenous writers together for new NBC sitcom". CBC. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
  4. Petski, Denise; Andreeva, Nellie (20 November 2019). "'Rutherford Falls' Co-Creator Sierra Teller Ornelas Inks Overall Deal With Universal TV". Deadline. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
  5. Harjo, Noetta (17 September 2018). "GGA Indigenerd Wire: Sierra Teller Ornelas Talks Authenticity and Humor in Native Storytelling". Geek Girl Authority. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
  6. Ornelas, Sierra Teller (30 January 2019). "Indigenous People's Long Road to Visibility in Hollywood (Guest Column)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
  7. "Weaving is part of woman's soul". Arizona Daily Star. 13 December 2006. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
  8. Sussman, Mark (10 May 2018). "Sierra Teller Ornelas on giving yourself permission to suck". thecreativeindependent.com. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
  9. "Eight Chosen for Disney/ABC TV Diversity Writing Program". TheWrap. 18 February 2010. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
  10. Yurth, Cindy (24 October 2011). "For Diné scriptwriter, Hollywood is one big dinner table". navajotimes.com. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
  11. Montpelier, Rachel (14 September 2018). "Writer to Watch: Sierra Teller Ornelas of "Superstore"". womenandhollywood.com. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
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