ALANIS OBOMSAWIN

Not only is Abenaki Filmmaker Alanis Obomsawin one of the Most Important Documentarians in Canada, but she is also among the Most Acclaimed Indigenous Directors in the World. She started her career as a Musician, Performing at Reserves, Schools & Festivals throughout the ’60s. She was soon hired by the National Film Board to consult on projects about Indigenous Peoples, and she directed her first film, Christmas at Moose Factory, in 1971. Since then, Obomsawin has Directed Over 50 Films – including the landmark Kanehsatake: 270 Years of Resistance, about the 78-Day Standoff between the Quebec Police & Canadian Army and a group of Mohawk People who were protesting a Proposed Golf Course that was to be built on their land – and has remained Committed to Telling Unheard Indigenous Stories.

KAWENNÁHERE DEVERY JACOBS

Acting wasn’t always in the cards for Kawennáhere Devery Jacobs. She grew up on Kahnawake Mohawk Territory in Quebec, where she didn’t see a lot of acting roles for Indigenous women. So she decided to go to school to become a social worker instead and was working at the Native Women’s Shelter of Montreal when she was cast in her first leading role, Aila in 2013’s Rhymes for Young Ghouls. Since then, Jacobs has had standout roles in:

• Crime Drama Cardinal
• Netflix’s Supernatural Series The Order
• Amazon Prime Video’s American Gods as Fan Fave Sam Blackcrow

“I kind of hate the term ‘Strong Female Leads’ – essentially all of the Women-Identifying People I know are strong women,” Jacobs told us in 2019. “I want to find characters who have a lot of energy and are strong and very different. It doesn’t have to be all tough bad asses. In my mind, my future will look like accepting roles that I’m really passionate about and really inspire me.”

TANTOO CARDINAL

If you’re a fan of Movies & TV, we can pretty much guarantee that Tantoo Cardinal has popped up in something you love like;

• Street Legal
• Dances With Wolves
• Mohawk Girls
• Netflix Western Godless

These are just a few of the award-winning actor’s on-screen appearances. Cardinal landed her first professional acting gig in 1971, and today she has more than 100 Acting Credits. In 2009, she was appointed to the Order of Canada for Advancing Indigenous Performing Arts. Most recently, she can be seen on Noir Dramedy Stumptown, in which she stars opposite fellow Canadian Cobie Smulders.

JODY WILSON-RAYBOULD

Prior to becoming a Member of Parliament, Jody Wilson-Raybould, who is a member of the We Wai Kai Nation and is also known by her traditional name, Puglaas, worked as a:

• Crown Prosecutor in British Columbia
• Adviser at the B.C. Treaty Commission, Overseeing Treaty Negotiations between First Nations & the Crown
• Elected as Regional Chief for the B.C. Assembly of First Nations
• Elected as an MP in 2015 for the Liberal Party
• Appointed Minister of Justice
• Appointed Attorney General of Canada Making her the First Indigenous Person to Hold the Title

In early 2019, Wilson-Raybould resigned from the Liberal Cabinet after going public with complaints that Prime Minister Trudeau and his staff had tried to pressure her into making a deal in the prosecution of SNC-Lavalin. (Trudeau denied the allegations.) She was later EXPELLED from the Liberal Caucus – BUT THAT DIDN’T STOP HER. Later that year, she ran as an Independent in her riding of Vancouver Granville and was RE-ELECTED as an MP.

MARION BULLER

Marion Buller is a Cree Jurist in British Columbia and a member of the Mistawasis First Nation in Saskatchewan. She started her career working in; Civil & Criminal Law & In 1994 became the First Indigenous Woman to be appointed as a Provincial Court Judge in B.C. Most recently, she served as Chief Commissioner for the National Inquiry into Missing & Murdered Indigenous Women & Girls. When the Commission’s final report was released last year – containing 231 Calls to Justice – it was Her Powerful Words that Introduced us to the 1,200-Page Watershed Document. “This Report is about Deliberate Race, Identity & Gender-Based GENOCIDE” Buller Wrote. “The Violence Against Indigenous Women, Girls & 2SLGBTQQIA People is a NATIONAL TRAGEDY of EPIC PROPORTION”

KILEY MAY

“Transitioning is a form of Art, and it’s my Greatest Artwork to Date” two-spirited artist Kiley May told HuffPost Canada in 2019. From Six Nations Reserve and now based in Toronto, the Hotinonhshón:ni Mohawk

• Actor
• Dancer
• Model
• Writer

Is vocal about her experience as a Trans & Two-Spirited Indigenous Woman in the arts. “I made the decision a long time ago to sort of live publicly and be an open book for the sake of education” she told CBC in 2017. “That’s just my personality.” She has since been featured in;

• It: Chapter Two
• Stars as River on CBC’s Coroner
• Advocate for Trans & Two-Spirited Rights.

AUTUMN PELTIER

Activist Autumn Peltier was just Eight Years Old when she began Advocating for the Universal Right to Clean Water. Growing up on Wiikwemkoong Unceded Anishinabek Territory on Manitoulin Island

Peltier learned about the importance of clean water from her mom and her aunt and that Many Indigenous Communities Across Canada Don’t Have Access To It. By 15, she had accomplished a lot since first taking on the cause. In 2016, she met with Justin Trudeau (“I’m very unhappy with the choices you’ve made,” She Told Him).

She was Nominated for the International Children’s Peace Prize in 2017, 2018 & 2019.

Named Chief Water Commissioner for the Anishinabek Nation – an advocacy group for 40 First Nations Across Ontario – taking over the role from her late great-aunt.

She has also Spoken at the United Nations General Assembly TWICE! Saying: “I’ve said it once, and I’ll say it again: We can’t eat money or drink oil.”

TANYA TAGAQ

Credited for Bridging the Gap between Traditional Throat Music & Pop, Tanya Tagaq is a Force in the Canadian Music Scene. The Juno Winner grew up in Cambridge Bay, Nunavut, and began practicing throat singing at age 15 while attending high school in Yellowknife. The Inuk Singer has since;

• Released 4 Albums (in addition to EP’s)
• Written an Award-Winning Book called Split Tooth
• Received the Order of Canada

BUFFY SAINT-MARIE

There is no disputing the fact that Buffy Sainte-Marie is a Musical Legend. Hailing from Qu’Appelle Valley, Sask., the Singer-Songwriter Taught Herself to Play the Piano at Age 3, By, Age 79, her Prolific Career Spanned 21 Albums. Sainte-Marie has used her Music as a Vehicle to Promote Awareness of Indigenous Issues; one of her earliest tracks, “Now That the Buffalo’s Gone,” references Indigenous land Rights, while “My Country ’Tis of Thy People You’re Dying” Addresses the Exclusion of Indigenous People from North American History. (Sainte-Marie is a Dual Citizen and currently resides in Hawaii.) She is the First Indigenous Person to Win an Oscar (the 1983 Best Original Song Award for An Officer and a Gentleman), and she has devoted her talents and passion to the realms of:

• Visual Arts
• Education
• Social Activism
• Composing

CHRISTI BELCOURT

Christi Belcourt effortlessly draws Connections Between the Environment & Indigenous Land Rights through her breath-taking visual art. Using mainly Acrylic Paints, the Scarborough-born Metis Artist’s work is inspired by her Culture’s Historical Beadwork, often featuring floral designs that represent themes of identity and community. Belcourt has received several accolades for her artwork, including the;

• 2016 Governor General’s Innovation Award
• 2016 Premier’s Award for Excellence in the Arts

Her work can be found in the:

• National Gallery of Canada
• Art Gallery of Ontario
• Indian & Inuit Art Collection

SHEILA NORTH

Sheila North made her Mark on the Indigenous Community & Canada at large as the First Female Grand Chief of Manitoba Keewatinowki Okimakank, Representing over 30 Northern Manitoban First Nations. She grew up in the community of Bunibonibee Cree Nation (a.k.a. Oxford House) and later pursued Career’s in;

• Journalism & Communications, Reporting for the CBC
• Working as a Radio Personality
• Cree Translator

She is also Largely Credited with Starting the #MMIW Hashtag & Co-Producing a Documentary, 1200+, about Missing & Murdered Indigenous Women.

SAGE PAUL

“I didn’t see myself in the industry because I didn’t have the money to produce a collection – or even have access to people at the bigger corporations because to work at those corporations, you have to intern and work for free, which I wasn’t able to do,” Fashion Designer Sage Paul told ELLE Canada in 2020. “I really encourage those who are on the fringe to create a space for themselves.” Paul has certainly created an admirable space for herself in the Canadian Fashion Landscape. An urbanDenesuliné tskwe & English River First Nation Member living in Toronto, Paul has Created a wealth of unique and singular Designs Inspired by Family & Sovereignty. Her Dedication to Indigenous Representation in Fashion is evident in her community involvement: She is the;

• Co-Founder of Indigenous Fashion Week Toronto
• Sits on the Ryerson School of Fashion Advisory Board
• Taught Indigenous-Fashion at George Brown College

SHEILA WATT-CLOUTIER

Nobel Peace Prize Nominee Sheila Watt-Cloutier is admirably relentless in her advocacy for;

• Environmental Justice
• Human Rights
• Global Health
• The Well-Being & Preservation of the Inuit of the Arctic

Born in Nunavik, Quebec, she began her activist work in the Kativik School Board, pushing for improved educational standards for Inuit students. Her presence in Inuit advocacy extends beyond Canada:

From 2002 until 2006, she served as the International Chair of the Inuit Circumpolar Council, Representing Over 150,000 Inuit from Russia, Greenland, Alaska & Canada. Watt-Cloutier’s 2016 TEDx Talk, “Human Trauma & Climate Trauma as One” brought attention to the connection between Indigenous Rights & Climate Change.

NEL WIEMAN M.SC., MD, FRCPC

As the First Female Indigenous Psychiatrist, Dr. Nel Wieman’s significance in medicine cannot be understated. A Member of Little Grand Rapids First Nation, Anishinaabe Nation (Saulteaux/Ojibwa), She began her career providing services at the;

• Mental-Health Clinic on Six Nations of the Grand River Territory
• Served as Co-Director of the Indigenous Health Research Development Program at the University of Toronto
• Member of the Clinical Support Team at YWCA Toronto’s Elm Centre
• Acting Deputy Chief Medical Officer at the First Nations Health Authority in B.C.
• Serving a Second Term as the President of the Indigenous Physicians Association of Canada

LARISSA CRAWFORD

Larissa Crawford has a Powerful Voice. The Calgary-Based Jamaican-Métis Activist & Anti-Racism Researcher served as the Youth Head Delegate of Canada & Successfully Lobbied for Indigenous World Views and the UN Sustainable Development Goals at the G7 Summit in 2018.  She is the Founder of Future Ancestors Services, a Youth-Led Professional-Services Social Enterprise that focuses on our Responsibility for Climate Justice & Equity. The organization Support Grassroots Anti-Racism & Climate-Justice Initiatives as well as the Future Ancestors Waashayshkwun Grant fund for;

• Independent Speakers
• Trainers
• Researchers
• Canadian Artists