Sierra Teller Ornelas facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Sierra Teller Ornelas
Teller Ornelas in 2022
Born	(1981-03-03) March 3, 1981 (age 44) Tucson, Arizona
Nationality	Navajo Nation, American
Education	University of Arizona
Occupation	Television producer • screenwriter
Parents	David Ornelas (father) Barbara Teller Ornelas (mother)

Sierra Nizhoni Teller Ornelas is a talented writer and producer for television. She is a member of the Navajo people and was born on March 3, 1981, in Tucson, Arizona. Sierra is also a sixth-generation tapestry weaver.

She is one of the creators of the comedy TV show Rutherford Falls. She worked on this show with Ed Helms and Mike Schur. Sierra has also written and produced for popular shows like Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Happy Endings, and Superstore. In 2019, she signed a special deal with Universal Television. This deal led to her work on Rutherford Falls for the Peacock streaming service.

Early Life and Education

Sierra Teller Ornelas was born in Tucson, Arizona. She belongs to the Edge Water clan of the Navajo Nation. Her family background includes both Navajo and Mexican heritage.

Learning from Weaving

When Sierra was a child, she spent a lot of time with her mother, Barbara Teller Ornelas. Her mother is a famous tapestry weaver. Being around Native art at galleries and museums helped Sierra see the beauty of Indigenous culture. This was different from how Native people were often shown on TV.

Spending time weaving with her mother made Sierra very interested in film and writing for TV. She knew she wanted to write for television as early as second grade.

High School and College

Sierra went to a special high school that prepared students for college. There, she learned even more about how important storytelling is for Indigenous communities.

She later studied media arts at the University of Arizona. While there, she joined a comedy group called Comedy Corner. She started as an audience member and then became a main writer and producer. Sierra graduated in 2005.

Career in Television

After college, Sierra worked for five years at the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C.. She also made a documentary film called A Loom with a View: Modern Navajo Weavers. This film showed the weaving skills of her mother, great aunt, and brother.

Taking a Big Step

Sierra was inspired to leave her museum job and chase her dream of becoming a TV writer. Her mother and aunt had once woven a huge rug over four years. They sold it for a lot of money, which greatly helped their family. This "big swing" encouraged Sierra to take a chance on her own dreams.

In 2010, Sierra was chosen for a special writing program by Disney/ABC Television Group. After this, she became a staff writer for the show Happy Endings. She helped create a storyline where a character discovered he was part Navajo. Sierra believes that comedy can help people talk about important and sometimes difficult topics.

Rutherford Falls: A Groundbreaking Show

Sierra Teller Ornelas, Ed Helms, and Mike Schur created the TV series Rutherford Falls. The first episode aired on NBC in 2021. As the showrunner, Sierra led a team of writers that included four other Indigenous writers.

A New Perspective

Mike Schur and Ed Helms asked Sierra to join them because they wanted her creative ideas and Native perspective. Sierra wanted to show Native stories in a new way. She aimed to avoid the serious or wrong ideas often seen when non-Native writers told these stories.

Rutherford Falls gave Sierra a chance to break Native stereotypes. It showed the many different experiences of Native people. She wanted to highlight their human side through her storytelling.

Storytelling and History

Sierra was inspired by her time working at the Smithsonian museums. She based the show's plot around museum employees. She sees Indigenous people as the first storytellers and keepers of history. The show explored questions like, "What is American history?" and "Who gets left out of these stories?" She made the series a comedy to change how Native Americans are often shown on TV.

When it first came out, critics liked the show for its humor and how it dealt with Indigenous issues. Rutherford Falls was canceled by Peacock in 2022 after two seasons. However, it made history. Sierra Teller Ornelas became the first Indigenous showrunner. It was also the first major TV show with five Indigenous writers.

Other Creative Work

After Rutherford Falls ended, Sierra co-wrote a comedy show called "City Indians." She worked on this with two other Native artists, Bobby Wilson and Jackie Keliiaa. She described it as a fun Native comedy she really enjoys making. She later sold the idea for this show to NBC.

Future Projects

In December 2022, Sierra Teller Ornelas, along with Marco Luevanos and Morgan Sackett, announced a new comedy show. It is called Amigos and is for NBC. The show is about six Latin friends in Los Angeles. They support each other while dealing with love, growing up, and finding success. This show has not been released yet.

In January 2024, Sierra and Jana Schmieding announced another project called Bonnie. This family comedy is about a former backup singer. She left her touring life to live on a reservation. There, she wants to be the "cool auntie" and help raise her brother's children. Sierra is using this project to continue bringing Native American stories and talent to major television networks.

Television Work

See also

In Spanish: Sierra Teller Ornelas para niños