Stories and Voices Cabaret

Tantoo Cardinal is an award-winning actress of Indigenous descent. A trail blazing Actress who has appeared in over 130 film and television projects over the course of her 50-year career. A multi award winning performer, including the Earle Grey Award (a lifetime achievement award by the Canadian Screen Awards), is a Member of the Order of Canada, a CBC/Playback Hall of Fame inductee, recipient of the Governor General's Artistic Lifetime Achievement Award, has a star on Canada’s Walk of Fame along with Honorary Doctorates from 5 Universities.

Film work includes work alongside Robert DeNiro and Leonardo DiCaprio in Martin Scorsese’s award winning feature, Killers of the Flower Moon. Film credits include: Legends of the Fall, Dances with Wolves, Black Robe, Falls Around Her, Wind River, The Grizzlies, Where The Rivers Flow North, Maina, Chasing Shakespeare and Eden.

TV series work includes playing Sue Lynn Blackbird in the ABC Television Network series Stumptown. Or opposite Alfred Molina in the series 3 Pines on Amazon (produced by the same producers of The Crown), the Marvel series, Echo, on Disney + and Hulu and she just wrapped the final season of Avatar: Last of the Air Benders.

Television credits include: SEE, Westworld, Longmire, Mohawk Girls, Frontier, Blackstone, Lonesome Dove, Nobody’s Girls, Godless and Penny Dreadful among others. Theatre work includes playing "Gertrude in Hamlet," Regan in the production of "King Lear" and the role of Pelajia in a production of "The Rez Sisters”. She was Awarded the Theatre Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress for her work on “The Inheritance” at the Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles

January Rogers is a Mohawk/Tuscarora writer and media producer. She lives on her home territory of Six Nations of the Grand River where she operates Ojistoh Publishing and Productions. January combines her literary talents with her passion for media making to produce audio and video poetry. Her video poem Ego of a Nation won Best Music Video at the American Indian International Film Festival 2020 and her audio work The Battle Within won Best Experimental Audio with imagineNative International Film and Media Festival 2021. She is a literary mentor with Audible, the Indigenous Writers Circle Program since 2022. January wrote a 10-episode comedy series NDNs on the Airwaves (found on the Ojistoh youtube channel) and her play Blood Sport, a comedy about the pretendian crisis in Indian Country has received numerous stage readings and was published by Turtle’s Back Publishing in 2023.

Marina Alefosio is an Aotearoa-born Samoan spoken word poet, storyteller, and arts practitioner whose work bridges creative expression and community empowerment. She hails from the villages of Mulifanua, Leauva’a, Faleasiu and Falefa in Samoa and works across the Pacific at the intersection of arts, culture, and wellbeing.

Marina's practice spans spoken word poetry, hip-hop, theatre, songwriting, and mentoring, centring Pasifika and Indigenous voices while exploring themes of identity, justice, and collective healing. Her creative journey began on local and international stages, including the Nuyorican Poets Café in New York (2012) and TEDx Auckland (2013). She has since performed at significant cultural moments such as the Dawn Raids Apology Ceremony in Auckland (2021) and the Toronto Writers Festival (2021).

Marina’s contributions have been recognised through numerous poetry anthologies, residencies and fellowships, including the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity (2019 and 2024), the Tautai Arts Trust Fale-ship Residency (2021), the Rhodes Poetry Retreat (2023), and the Creative New Zealand Creative Fellowship (2024), which supported the publication of her debut book, 'to siva inside a circle'. Drawing on these experiences, she co-designed a spoken word residency in Mulifanua, Samoa with her father and tulafale, Savaiinaea Palenapa Alefosio, creating space for Oceania writers across disciplines.

She has co-written theatre works with Black Friars Theatre Company (2018–2021) and continues to mentor emerging artists. In 2023, Marina became an Atlantic Fellow for Social Equity, completing a Master’s in Social Change Leadership at the University of Melbourne researching the connection and power of spoken word poetry to oral cultures. Her proudest roles are being a mother and an aunty.

Jesse Wente is a husband and father, as well as an award-winning writer and speaker. Born and raised in Toronto, his family comes from Chicago and Genaabaajing Anishinaabek and he is an off-reserve member of the Serpent River First Nation. Jesse is best known for more than two decades spent as a columnist for CBC Radio’s Metro Morning. Jesse spent a decade with the Toronto International Film Festival as a curator, including leading the film and gallery programming at the Tiff Lightbox. Jesse was the founding director of the Indigenous Screen Office and is the first Indigenous person to serve as Chair of the Canada Council for the Arts. His award-winning first book “Unreconciled: Family, Truth and Indigenous Resistance” was a national bestseller. Earlier this year, Jesse was named the Storyteller in Residence at Toronto Metropolitan University. His first children’s book, Danger Eagle, has just been released by Tundra Books.

Photo is by John Paille.

Cristina Rodriguez was born and raised in the city of Chicago, IL. She is a multidisciplinary artist: filmmaker, composer, actor, and writer based in Chicago. She majored in Musical Theatre and minored in Latino Studies at Columbia College of Chicago. She is a part of Actors Equity Association and Maestra Music Organization.

Her work blends magical realism, experimental sound, and Chicano cultural identity, creating immersive and emotionally resonant storytelling across film and performance.

She is the writer, director, composer, and lead actress of her own short film Mexica(n), and has composed original music for dance films. As a teaching artist, she has developed movement based curricula combining dance, mindfulness, and storytelling for young learners. 

Her films, performances and illustrations have been featured at Pilsen Community Arts Center, Map O Rama Interactive Exhibit at Free Street Theatre, Revive Arts Collective, PCCC Arts, Stage 773, Chicago Women’s Funny Festival, Second City, Short Stack Film Festival, Healthy Hood Chicago and Choreo Kick off at the Ruth Page Center for the Arts. She also has been mentored by Andrew Cutler at Black Box Acting Academy, Resita Cox in the Indie & Impact Film Program at Duke University. Her artistry has been recognized with supported from DCASE Individual Artist Grant.

Joshua is a Dine’ (Navajo) comedian, actor, and writer based in Denver, Colorado. He produces the Native American comedy showcase, Bad Indian, at clubs and festivals around the world including at Netflix is a Joke, SF Sketchfest, and the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Joshua’s documentary, also called Bad Indian, was selected for SeriesFest Season 11 and his short film, Finding the Funny, is currently on display at the Denver Art Museum. He is a regular contributor with CityCast Denver and Westword Magazine. Joshua was selected for the Mayor’s Award for Excellence in Arts & Culture in 2023 and was named to the NCAIED’s Native American 40 under 40 in 2026. He currently serves on the board of the Arts District on Sante Fe and the Denver American Indian Commission. Joshua lives at home with partner, Rachel, their two dogs, Lola and Arianna, and their two cats, Nibbler and Joanna.

Daisy Lavea-Timo is an Aotearoa- New Zealand born Sāmoan poet (Vailu’utai, Samatau, Lepā, Saipipi) whose work is deeply rooted in her ancestry and her role as a tulafale-orator chief. Daisy explores what it means to sustain and construct her identity as a product of the Sāmoan diaspora, being born and raised in Tamaki-Auckland and living in Kalaisitete-Christchurch, NZ.

Daisy’s poetry is the dynamic and indigenous response of her Sāmoan-ness, and her work strives to communicate ideas about the complex societal issues connected with culture and leadership. She is a proud wife to Seta, mum to Hadassah, Micahlei and Honor, keen educator, and Director of Cross-Polynate- an indigenous social change agency. Daisy navigates corporate worlds as a strategic facilitator and cultural competency coach and in the community, facilitates vā-space for Rangatahi all over Aotearoa to use their “upu” - words to pen their aspirations and truths for their families, communities, and selves.

From her vantage point at the intersections of the many worlds she navigates, Daisy wields words about culture, leadership, and collective impact.

Chandre Iqugan Szafran is Inupiaq from Alaska. Her creative practice combines lyrical prose with visual art and design, using playfulness and color to communicate her point of view. Chandre named her creative practice qaummaq, a word from the Fish River dialect of Inupiatun meaning “daylight” or “brightness from a source.” This suggests that light comes from something, like a lightbulb, a fire, or the sun. Similarly, her creative impulse comes from a place—her roots on the tundra near the Arctic Circle. As Native storytellers, Chandre believes it is our responsibility to deconstruct contemporary “Indigenized” narratives in spaces dominated by the non-Native gaze.

Chandre holds an MFA in nonfiction from the United States’ only accredited university of Indigenous fine arts, the Institute of American Indian Arts. Chandre enjoys biking, berry picking, traveling, and immersing herself in storytelling found in all artforms.

Özten Shebahkeget is a member of Northwest Angle 33 First Nation in Treaty 3 territory, born and raised in Winnipeg. Her poetry has appeared in CV2, Prairie Fire, the Winnipeg Free Press and with the Winnipeg Art Gallery. She’s previously taken part in literary residences at the Banff Centre and Sage Hill. She was also recently shortlisted for the Foster Poetry Prize.

Özten graduated from the University of Winnipeg’s creative writing program in 2020, winning several writing prizes during her studies. She also holds an MFA in writing from the University of Saskatchewan, where she received the Elizabeth Brewster memorial scholarship and a graduate thesis award nomination. She’s been working as a full-time reporter with CBC Manitoba since her successful thesis defence in September 2022.

Her thesis, Mashkode, is a speculative verse novel set at the Manitoba legislative building. The story focuses on representations of hybridized “Others” within the building’s architecture.

Arsan Buffin is an Indigenous artist hailing from Northern Saskatchewan that has been residing in Edmonton for the past twenty years. He is an accomplished
artist as a photographer and a videographer. He has worked in industrial video production for several years producing videos for local non-profits agencies. He also has
over a decade experience with photography which has been his passion. His work has been shown in several galleries throughout Alberta.

Over the past five years, Arsan has begun working using comedy as a medium. He is a member of the community of Indigenous comedians that regularly contribute on social media having over 2 million views and over a million likes on Tik Tok. After his success online, he has begun performing stand-up comedy throughout Edmonton. As a comedian, he looks to provide Indigenous peoples with ways to laugh at normal day to day aspects of life in Treaty Six territory.

His professional career is dedicated towards education and training front-line support workers to have tools they need to succeed in assisting vulnerable populations. It is these experiences that he wishes to educate people on the arts. Right now presenting stand-up comedy and improv workshops in northern communities.

Ruby Rae Lupe Ah-Wai Macomber (she/they) is an Indigenous writer, junior lawyer, and kaupapa Māori researcher of Ngāpuhi and Rotuman descent. Formerly the co-manager of Te Kāhui, a creative programme for Indigenous youth in prisons across Aotearoa, Ruby now organises, writes, and advocates for Indigenous liberation and the abolition of state carceral violence.

A 2026 McCormack Writing Centre (formerly Tin House) Scholar, Ruby was the 2025 curator of both the New Zealand Young Writers’ Festival and STREETSIDE for the Auckland Writers’ Festival. She has also facilitated workshops, edited publications, and performed her work across Aotearoa.

My Moana Girls (2024), published by ngā pukapuka pekapeka, is her debut chapbook. Her writing appears in journals and anthologies throughout Aotearoa. Ruby is currently working on a full-length collection of poetry and essays exploring Indigenous anti-carceral feminism.
 

Adeline Bird is an Afro-Indigenous writer, filmmaker, and storyteller whose work explores identity, belonging, and the emotional landscapes of people searching for home. A proud Afro-Anishnaabe woman, she draws inspiration from the oral storytelling traditions of her family and community, as well as the quiet, intimate moments that shape who we become. 

Adeline began writing as a child, inspired by her grandfather Norman Amyotte, a Métis man who never had the opportunity to learn how to read or write. Storytelling became a way to honor and transform that legacy, carrying forward stories that might otherwise be lost.

In addition to her literary work, Adeline has written for acclaimed television projects including Don't Even (Crave) and contributed to the docuseries Indigenous Love (CBC). Her experience in film and television has deepened her commitment to character-driven storytelling that blends emotional truth with cultural specificity.

At Banff, Adeline will be working on her debut novel, a coming-of-adult story that weaves modern life, and the complexities of Afro-Indigenous identity. Her writing centers the beauty, contradictions, humor, and resilience of communities often left out of mainstream narratives.

Through her work, Adeline aims to create stories that feel both intimate and expansive, stories that honor who we are today.

Gabriela Noujaim, born in Rio de Janeiro, 42 years
Gabriela Noujaim was born in Rio de Janeiro in 1983. At the age of 12, she was already enrolled at the School of Visual Arts (EAV) at Parque Lage. Her work raises questions about the ancestral indigenous socio-environmental heritage, protection against aggression toward the female body, and the limitations of sociopolitical structures in Brazilian society. Graduating in Printmaking from the School of Fine Arts at UFRJ in 2007, the artist structured her poetic approach based on her interest in technical images created from videos, photographs, and initially, printmaking, as well as the idea of fixing an image in time.

She lives and works in Rio de Janeiro and Portugal. In 2023, she participated in the exhibition “Zonas de Transição,” curated by João Silvério, and her works are part of the PLMJ collection in Lisbon, as well as the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation collection in Lisbon, Portugal. In 2022, she participated in the group exhibition “Mascaras na Pele,” curated by João Silvério at Galeria Movart in Lisbon, and in the group exhibition “Poder da Terra” at Contemporary Art Gallery Montoro12 in Brussels, Belgium. In 2021, she held a solo exhibition at the National Museum of the Republic, Brasília - Federal District. In 2020, she was affiliated with ARTFEM –2nd International Biennial of Women Artists in Macau, China, and participated in the Capacete exhibition and artistic residency in Rio de Janeiro. In 2019, she participated in the solo exhibition “Maracá” at Galeria Simone Cadinelli Arte Contemporânea, Rio de Janeiro. She received an honorable mention at the “Lumen EX” video art festival (Badajoz, Spain), was a finalist at the 3M Festival Love Songs at the Tomie Ohtake Institute (2014), received the acquisition prize at the 39th Contemporary Art Show of Santo André (SP 2011), and was nominated for the PIPA Prize(2012).

Her works are part of the collections: Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo; Museum of Art of Rio; Ibero-American Institute, Berlin; Cultural Center São Paulo; Museum of Digital Art, Valencia; Palace of the Arts Belgrano, Buenos Aires; House of Latin American Culture (CAL/UnB); School of Visual Arts of Parque Lage; Cândido Mendes Gallery, Rio de Janeiro; SESC, Copacabana; Palace of the Arts Belgrano, Buenos Aires; Correios Cultural Space, Rio de Janeiro.

When Cree Métis filmmaker Jay Cardinal Villeneuve arrived in Vancouver he just dropped out of college on a Theatre Scholarship determined to get into the movie game, even though Y2K was threatening our very existence. Armed w/ a camcorder and an "exotic look" (according to casting directors) he shot numerous no-budget short films and played bit parts in some ill-fated tv shows until graduating from the Indigenous Film Program at Capilano University. 

Jay then worked as a videographer recording private statements w/ the Truth and Reconciliation Commission for several years while concurrently making his own independent films. He directed the residential school documentary Holy Angels that won him a Leo Award for Screenwriting, and was chosen for the inaugural Warner Media Canadian Academy Writer's Program. His latest effort is the Louis Riel drama Gods & Devils currently playing festivals. 

At the moment Jay's in the edit suite cutting his award-winning short comedy Buffalo Testicles for the Soul into a feature aimed at Netflix, where he can be seen (if you don't blink) opposite Jennifer Lopez in The Mother, as a Doctor, not named Dr. Jay. He also has three rad kids, who collaborate and perform in his short films on YouTube.

Koromiko Jacob-Williams is a dynamic poet, activist, writer, facilitator, creative, and future filmmaker who hails from Tauranga, Aotearoa, New Zealand(Iwi/Tribes of Ngāiterangi, Ngāti Ranginui). They are a member of the spoken word poetry group Rehekōrero, who took out the Word - The Frontline competition in 2023 and the Trans-Tasman poetry slam. The group has also performed at Laneway Music Festival, Splore Festival, Fat Freddy’s Drop’s SloMo tour, and much more. Individually, they are fluent in te reo Māori and incorporate their language into their written poetry. They speak about Te Ao Māori and political issues through an indigenous lens while touching on what it's like to be a young wāhine Māori. Currently, they're studying for a Bachelor of Communications, studying film and journalism at AUT. They hope to write and release a collection of poetry in the future and create films focusing on indigenous storytelling.

Dawn Amber Tonks is a respected member of the St’uxwtéws band of the Secwepemc Nation from the interior of British Columbia. She completed her Master of Fine Arts with the University of British Columbia in May 2026. For her thesis she wrote a feature length screen play, titled “The International Auntie Pageant”. For which she has had to learn a lot about beauty pageants, as well as how to spell “pageant”. She writes in most genres with the focus on being Indigenous in Canada. 

In November 2025 Dawn was invited to attend a Writing Residency at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity. She was awarded the Indigenous Graduate Scholars Fellowship in 2024, and the First People Cultural Council Scholarship. Dawn was invited to attend the Women in Film and Television International Film Festival because of her work during the Tricksters and Writers Screenwriting Program. 

Dawn comes from a large boisterous family. Consequently, she enjoys being alone but can’t work when it’s too quiet. With her sons, Talon and Kit, grown and out of the house Dawn can often not be found as she is outside somewhere with her dog, Duke, thinking deep thoughts. She also enjoys adventures with her husband Chris, conversations with little kids, running and talking to the crows she’s befriended. Dawn is rarely serious but always creative. 
Dawn currently lives in Ucluelet, Vancouver Island BC—the perfect place to be outside. 

Cassandra (River) Blondin Burt is a member of the Yellowknives Dene First Nation. They are a two- spirit Dene musician, poet, artist and Earth Medicine Maker. Recently they have worked as a communications consultant for YKDFN, and air a weekly feature titled Medicine Stories for CKLB Radio 101.9fm The Voice of Denendeh, named after their weekly column for Northern News Service publications (News North, the Yellowknifer) over the last four years since 2022.

Their writing has been published across Turtle Island, appearing in the Malahat Review, the Watershed Sentinel (BC), with the Yellowhead Institution (ONT), and online for Ink Stick Media (USA). Recently Cassandra released their second collection of Poetry titled Starchives Vol. 2 Meditations on Earth Philosophy.

Cassandra was featured in the 2024 Storytelling Festival Heart of the Dene with the Northern Arts Cultural Centre (NACC), which toured through all five regions of Denendeh, sharing original songs and stories, but has performed on stage as a musician and storyteller for over two decades in BC and the NWT.