TULSA, Okla. — Cherokee Film Productions earned nine nominations and was awarded three Heartland Regional Emmy Awards during the 2026 Heartland Regional Emmy Awards, bringing the organization's total Emmy wins to 36.
Presented by the Heartland Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, the awards recognize excellence in regional television and media, honoring outstanding storytelling, creativity, technical execution, innovation and public service.
"Storytelling is a cornerstone Cherokee value, and with it comes with a responsibility to our people,” said Jen Loren, senior director of Cherokee Film. “Our team works hard to ensure our stories are told accurately, authentically and with care. These awards reflect the talent and dedication of our filmmakers, producers, editors and creative professionals and, most importantly, the trust the Cherokee people place in us to tell their stories.”
Cherokee Film Productions received nominations across multiple categories representing OsiyoTV, the "Let's Talk Cherokee" series and collaborative content produced throughout the year.
Heartland Regional Emmy Award winners include:
- Lifestyle/Informational/Instructional – Short Form/Long Form
- OsiyoTV Episode 1014 featuring Charles Hopkins Smith, Karen Coody Cooper and Steve Daugherty
- Historical/Cultural – Short Form/Long Form
- Leading Our People, Sharing Our Culture: Hastings Shade ᏥᎨᏒ
- Human Interest/Nostalgia – Short Form
- Cut From a Different Cloth: Wendell Cochran
Additional nominations include:
- Collaborative Content Team
- Tsalagi Wherever We Are: "How to Holiday" – Interview/Discussion
- Animation Team
- Let's Talk Cherokee: Skasdi Wili Jumper – Arts/Entertainment Short Form Content
- Let's Talk Cherokee: Ayoka – Education/Schools – Short Form/Long Form
- Let's Talk Cherokee: The First Fire – Historical/Cultural – Short Form/Long Form
- OsiyoTV
- Amber Valletta: Beyond the Runway – Arts/Entertainment – Long Form Content
- Echoes of the Ancestors: Oakhill Stickball – Diversity/Equity/Inclusion – Short Form/Long Form
Founded in 1947, the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences is the only nonprofit organization dedicated to recognizing excellence in television and media while advancing industry standards. The Heartland Chapter, established in 1986, honors work produced for audiences across Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Wyoming.
Since premiering in 2015, “Osiyo, Voices of the Cherokee People” has shared hundreds of stories highlighting Cherokee history, language, culture and contemporary life. Hosted and directed by Cherokee Nation citizen, filmmaker and Emmy Award-winning journalist Jen Loren, the series has become one of the most recognized Native-produced television programs in the country.
Cherokee Film includes four distinct branches — Cherokee Film Productions, Cherokee Film Studios, Cherokee Film Commission and Cherokee Film Institute — all working toward a shared goal of innovating narrative sovereignty while creating economic development within the tribe’s reservation. Cherokee Film Productions develops, produces, promotes and distributes a variety of original content in film, TV and other media that tells authentic Cherokee stories on behalf of the tribe, its people and its businesses.
Additional photos available here.