Elisa Harkins

Elisa Harkins is a Native American (Cherokee/Muscogee) artist and composer based in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Because of a historic US Supreme Court decision in 2020, Tulsa is now recognized as being on the Muscogee (Creek) Reservation. Harkins is an enrolled member of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, She is Bear Clan, and her Tribal Town is Coweta (Hope). Her work is concerned with translation, language preservation, and Indigenous musicology. Harkins uses the Cherokee and Mvskoke languages, electronic music, sculpture, and the body as her tools. Harkins received a BA from Columbia College Chicago and an MFA from CalArts. She has since continued her education at the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture. Her work has been exhibited at Crystal Bridges, documenta 14, The Hammer Museum, The Heard Museum, and MoMA.