A look at emerging Indigenous artists you can follow on Instagram

"We are Tkaronto’s Indigenous artist community.
We are diverse.
We create from different places inside of us
ancestral, cultural, family,
experiences as the peoples of these lands.
We are beautiful.
We are strong.
We are resilient."
 
Cole Stevens-Goulais, Grants Assistant, Toronto Arts Council
 
Here are a few upcoming Indigenous artists you might enjoy following on Instagram:

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  Tyler J Sloane (they/them) 

  photo: Jahmal Nugent

  Tyler J Sloane is a multidisciplinary performance artist, curator, producer, and facilitator. Their art emphasizes marginalized voices that intersect mixed-race and queer identity. They are currently the In-Conversation Series Buddies In Bad Times Project host with LeZlie Lee Kam at Buddies In Bad Times Theatre Company, and also the Education and Mentorship Director at Elevate Equity. Over the spring they produced, under their stage persona Tygr Willy, two cabaret shows with Glad Day TV; Nostalgia (co-produced with Lady Kunterpunt) and Thirst Nation Show (co-produced with Weird Alice). Recently, they released their radio play Mx. through the Alberta Queer Calendar Project with hopes to adapt for cinema, produced another year of the Bloom Stage at PrideTO for this summer, and currently doing videography work for 2-Spirited People of the First Nation.

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  Claudia Skunk (she/her) 

  Photo: Bliss Bondy

  Claudia Skunk is a proud Anishinaabe from Mishkeegogamang First Nation, located in northwestern Ontario. Claudia works as the Corporate Partnership Manager at imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival, the largest presenter of Indigenous screen content. Claudia is passionate about working with organizations and people who uplift Indigenous voices and expressions. She works closely with organizations like Native Youth Advisory Council, Ontario Indigenous Youth Partnerships program, Canadian Roots Exchange, and ENAGB Youth Agency. She has also recently had the opportunity to pursue fashion styling for campaigns in the past year. Her first time was for Toronto Indigenous Fashion Week, and most recently Sephora Canada as a styling assistant. Proudly coming from a northern community she draws her inspiration from her ancestors and the land that holds their stories.

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  Dana Solomon (she/her) 

  Photo: Andrew

  Dana Solomon is Anishinaabe (Ojibwe) member of Sagkeeng FN and Afro-Guyanese Performing Artist, Choreographer, filmmaker and Youth Facilitator from Selkirk Manitoba, now living in Toronto. She got her start in the performing arts as a dancer attending the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School. After moving to Ontario Dana went on to graduate from York University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree, specializing in Dance. Dana has worked with the Urban Indigenous population at Toronto Council Fire Native Cultural Centre for many years as a youth program coordinator. She developed an Indigenous based Dance Program through Council Fire called First Fire. This program provides professional dance training in a variety of dance styles. This program has explored The Residential School System, Missing & Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls & Two Spirit People through movement storytelling. Dana is passionate about community and education and through her work; she aims to bring those passions together to tell meaningful and thought-provoking stories. Those passions have led her into the world of filmmaking; Dana has now written her first feature film script Between the Lines and some of her recent credits as an actor include a recurring role on CBC’s Anne with E, Heartland & a Guest Star Role on Diggstown for CBC. Dana is currently a participant of the ImagineNative Features Screenwriting Lab, which is a year-long opportunity to further develop a feature script from treatment to final draft. Dana is further developing her feature Between the Lines in which she hopes to star in and co-direct.

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  Katie Couchie (she/her) 

  Photo: Morningstar Derosier

  Katie Couchie is an Oji-Cree dance artist originally from Nipissing First Nation, now based in Tkaronto. Katie is honours graduate of the Dance Performance Program at George Brown College. During her time at GBC, Katie had the opportunity to work with many renowned choreographers and teachers such as Susie Burpee, Hanna Kiel, Bengt Jörgen, Anisa Tejpar Derek Sangster, Ryan Lee, Tina Fushell and Sharon Moore. She has also attended training intensives at professional schools including Joffrey Ballet School in NYC (2019), Albert Ballet School (2019), The Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance (2020) and took part in Kenny Pearl’s virtual Emerging Artist Intensive (2020). Since graduating college in 2020, Katie has worked with Peggy Baker in the Emerging Artist Action Lab, dance in The Crown Land’s music video, End of The Road and in a video for National Indigenous Day 2021 which was commissioned by Soulpepper Theatre Company and produced by Kaha:wi Dance Theatre. Katie is also a part of Theatre Oculus’ 2021 Digital Toronto Fringe Show, Venus & Adonis and recently finished up a digital residency with the Banff Centre for the Arts and Creativity lead by Christopher House. Apart from her dance career, Katie runs a contemporary beadwork business, Ode’imin Inde’ Designs.

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  Kennedy Bomberry (she/her) 

  Photo: Marta Hewson

  Kennedy Bomberry is a contemporary dancer and performance artist from the Six Nations of the Grand River Territory. She is from the Turtle Clan of the Mohawk Nation. Kennedy’s dance journey began at the age of 2. She went on to dance competitively for 10 years until the age of 16 when she began focusing on contemporary dance while learning how to incorporate and honour her culture through her discipline. Notably, Kennedy has performed as the young Rita Joe in the multi-media production I Lost My Talk presented by the NAC, performer Iskwe’s Breaking Down music video and most recently Crown Lands’ End of the Road music video to honour MMIW.

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  Samay Arcentales Cajas (she/her) 

  Photo: Elizabeth Farinango

  Samay Arcentales Cajas is a Toronto-based Kichwa artist and filmmaker exploring human-land relations, the new media dimensions of Indigenous cosmology, and immersive art as a site of liberation. Her works have been shown at ImagineNATIVE, Xpace Cultural Centre, Mayworks Festival of Working People, Maysumak Quichwa Film Showcase, among others. Samay has also facilitated film programs at Sketch Working Arts, and Charles Street Video, where she currently works as program coordinator. She held her first solo show Will You Listen?: Latinx Voices in Tkaronto, a projection based media installation at Whippersnapper Gallery. Samay works as video designer, and editor for artists and filmmakers across the country.

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  Semiah (she/her) 

  Photo: Geoff Taylor

  Semiah is a singer/songwriter from Six Nations, Ontario. She began professionally singing traditional music from her Haudenosaunee heritage in her late teens in solo performances and as a member of the singing trio, Hatiyo (the good voice). At the same time, she also began writing songs in English, however had never published any of her contemporary works until her first single, Nothing Can Kill My Love for You debuted on May 14th, 2021. Semiah continues to challenge herself in her song writing to explore the nuances of identity, love, and the growing pains of her twenties.

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  Tim Myles (he/him) 

  Photo: Lauren Andrews

  Tim Myles is a Mi'kmaw actor and filmmaker originally from Ktaqmkuk, the island of Newfoundland and Labrador. Upon moving to Toronto in 2014 and graduating Toronto Film School with honours, Tim went on to direct multiple music videos for artists such as Indigenous rock group Crownlands, Banners, Tilsen and Métis pop artist Indigo. He has worked with Universal Music and Island Records, and his most recent project for Crowndlands, titled End of the Road, was a tribute to the missing and murdered Indigenous women on the Highway of Tears. Tim was awarded the 2020/2021 imagineNATIVE + LIFT Mentorship Grant in partnership with NETFLIX to develop his debut film, Little Bird, which is a semi auto-biographical story about losing his mother in 2013. The film is currently in post-production and was shot on location on the Saugeen Shores, the traditional land of the People of the Three Fires.

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  Theresa Cutknife (she/her) 

  Photo: Heather Kiskihkoman

  Theresa Cutknife (She/Her) is a Nehiyaw and Puerto Rican actor, writer, curator, storyteller, and emerging creative producer from Maskwacîs, Alberta located on Treaty 6 Territory and is a member of the Samson Cree Nation. Theresa has had the pleasure of working with companies such as Native Earth Performing Arts, Punctuate Theatre, Common Boots Theatre, Buddies in Bad Times Theatre, and Young People’s Theatre. She is a graduate from the Centre for Indigenous Theatre and is currently a Creative Producer in Training at the Theatre Centre. Theresa is currently writing and developing a new show called Talk Treaty To Me with long-time friend Samantha Fraughton, a graduate of the University of Alberta Law School. Talk Treaty To Me is a collaborative project born out of the desire to untangle treaty implications, and make sense of the legal relationship between Treaty 6 Indigenous people and Canada. The show explores the different perspectives of Canadian law through the lens of the healthcare system, specifically focusing on the Medicine Chest Clause, which is exclusive to Treaty 6.