Jula Harjo

Idabel, Oklahoma, USA

Growing up in Idabel, Oklahoma, Jula was surrounded by the cultures of six individual tribes. Her maternal grandmother (Choctaw) met her maternal grandfather (Hochunk) at Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence, Kansas. On her father’s side, Jula’s lineage is Paiute, Shoshone, Seminole, and Mvskoke (Creek). As a child, Jula attended the Kvlli Tuklo United Methodist Church just outside of Idabel. Established in the early years of the Removal, Kvlli Tuklo is one of the oldest Choctaw communities in Oklahoma. The original log building was erected in the late 1830’s. Here, in the congregation of her ancestors, she learned to sing hymns in the Choctaw language, but at home, her father spoke Creek. Today, Jula speaks mostly Creek in her own home, but Choctaw culture and language play crucial roles in her life as well.