Tantoo Cardinal
Birthday: 20 July 1950, Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada
Birth Name: Rose Marie Cardinal
Actress Tantoo Cardinal, a Member of the Order of Canada, one of the country's highest civilian honors. The Order of Canada recognizes Cardinal for her contributions to the growth and development ...Show More
I got into acting through my political involvement, through a sense of justice. I wanted to see thin Show more
I got into acting through my political involvement, through a sense of justice. I wanted to see things change, to offset some of the lies that have been told about us throughout history. The attitude of the public back in the '60s was so backward and ill-informed. By the time I found out about our history and how we were treated, I was in a rage. It was really a time of darkness and great frustration. There was an incredible wall we had to get through." ...[The] Canadian Content Rule, which came into existence in the mid 1960s, was the beginning to opening doors and minds. It resulted in producers actually casting real Native people to play Native roles. Hide
Life in the business is also highly challenging. Sometimes you are dissatisfied, it's difficult some Show more
Life in the business is also highly challenging. Sometimes you are dissatisfied, it's difficult sometimes. You're always thinking of how it could be better. It's a 20-legged race, you don't work alone. There are so many others working to tell the same story. We as Indian artists don't have the luxury of being individuals. We represent ages and ages. The work of an artist is a highly responsible one." Hide
We had no TV where I grew up in my community in northern Canada, and the only images of native peopl Show more
We had no TV where I grew up in my community in northern Canada, and the only images of native people that I was exposed to were my family and my relatives; these were wonderful and strong individuals whom I looked up to. It was only when I moved to Edmonton in Alberta in 1965, that I saw a different kind of image that was prevalent in Canadian society at that time, a negative image of native peoples as having no fixed address, and of being somehow 'lesser than.' Acting for me was a way to redress this imbalance; acting allows me to present a different kind of truth, to bring some light back into the stories of our history. Hide
Tantoo Cardinal's FILMOGRAPHY - Page 2
as Actor (97)
Tantoo Cardinal'S roles
Snow Bird
Black Shawl
Pet
