Colleen Thurston
Filmmaker
Story by Anne Cosgrove WIMBERLY
Photo Provide
Professor Colleen Thurston , a documentary filmmaker and a citizen of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma , is a recent hire at the Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Oklahoma . Thurston was hired in January 2022 as an assistant professor in creative media production . Even though she is new to the University of Oklahoma , her family has strong Sooner connections . Thurston ’ s maternal grandmother grew up on a farm in Norman , her grandfather worked at the University for several years , and her great , great uncle was Edward Everett Dale , the namesake of University of Oklahoma ’ s Dale Hall .
Thurston was born and raised in Tulsa , Oklahoma . She frequently visited Norman for family , cultural , and community events . She knew at a young age that she wanted to leave Oklahoma . t
“ I left Oklahoma when I was 18 , because I thought that my opportunities were limited here , and maybe at the time there was some truth to that .” Thurston said . “ But now filmmaking is coming out of the coasts . Look at what Sterlin is nearly single-handedly doing for native filmmaking in Oklahoma .”
Thurston is referring to the Oklahoma born indigenous filmmaker Sterlin Harjo . Harjo is the creator and director of the popular FX series Reservation Dogs .
Thurston knew what she wanted to accomplish when she left Oklahoma . She attended the University of Arizona as an undergraduate student to study film . She then earned her MFA in documentary filmmaking from Montana State University . Next , she worked as a film programmer for the National Museum of the American Indian and as an associate producer for the Smithsonian channel . “ It was weird having a dream job in my twenties . That was what I set out to do . But once I had that job , which was wonderful , I said well , what ’ s next ?” Thurston said of her time at the Smithsonian .
18 NormanMagazine . com | MAY / JUNE 2022