Tantoo Cardinal
{{short description|Canadian actress}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{Infobox person
| honorific_suffix = CM
| name = Tantoo Cardinal
| image = Tantoo Cardinal at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival 01 (cropped 3).jpg
| caption = Cardinal in 2025
| birth_name = Tantoo Caroline Rose Cardinal
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1950|7|20}}
| birth_place = Anzac, Alberta, Canada
| nationality = {{hlist|Canada}}
| occupation = Actress
| years_active = 1975–present
| children = 3, including Cliff Cardinal
}}
Tantoo Cardinal CM (born July 20, 1950) is a Canadian actress. Of Cree and Métis heritage, in 2009 she was made a member of the Order of Canada "for her contributions to the growth and development of Aboriginal performing arts in Canada, as a screen and stage actress, and as a founding member of the Saskatchewan Native Theatre Company."
Early life
Tantoo{{cite web| url= https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/tantoo-cardinal| title= Tantoo Cardinal| website= thecanadianencyclopedia.ca| first1= Anne-Marie| last1= Pedersen| first2= James V.| last2= Defelice| first3= Wyndham| last3= Wise| first4= Patrick| last4= Mullen| date= December 19, 2018| publisher= Historica Canada| access-date= February 25, 2021| archive-date= April 21, 2020| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200421130627/https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/tantoo-cardinal| url-status= live}} Cardinal was born the youngest of three children to Julia Cardinal, a woman of Cree and Métis descent, and a white father.
Cardinal was raised in the hamlet of Anzac, Alberta. The lack of electricity inspired her to use her imagination while playing in the bush. Her grandmother nicknamed her "Tantoo" after the insect repellent they used while picking blueberries together. She taught Cardinal the Cree language, the traditional ways of their culture and the difficulties she would face growing up Métis in Canada. Cardinal has said that it was walking behind her grandmother where she first learned to act.{{cite press release| url= http://newsinfo.iu.edu/news/page/normal/7512.html| title= Actress Tantoo Cardinal to speak at IU's Native Film Series on Feb. 20| website= iu.edu| publisher= Indiana University| date= February 12, 2008| access-date= February 25, 2021| archive-date= September 13, 2016| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160913185654/http://newsinfo.iu.edu/news/page/normal/7512.html| url-status= live}}{{cite web | title = Tantoo Cardinal | publisher = The Internet Movie Database | website = IMDb.com | url = https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001987/ | access-date = October 2, 2009 | archive-date = October 13, 2003 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20031013124321/https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001987/ | url-status = live }}
Career
Cardinal has played roles in many notable films and television series, including Spirit Bay, Loyalties, Dances with Wolves, Black Robe, Legends of the Fall, Smoke Signals, Hold the Dark and North of 60. She was cast in the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation mini-series By Way of the Stars with Gordon Tootoosis as the Cree Chief and Eric Schweig as Black Thunder.
In 2009, she was made a member of the Order of Canada "for her contributions to the growth and development of Aboriginal performing arts in Canada, as a screen and stage actress, and as a founding member of the Saskatchewan Native Theatre Company".{{cite web| url= http://www.gg.ca/document.aspx?id=13469| title= Governor General Announces 57 New Appointments to the Order of Canada| work= gg.ca| date= December 30, 2009| publisher= Office of the Secretary to the Governor General| access-date= December 30, 2009| archive-date= August 27, 2013| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130827132612/http://www.gg.ca/document.aspx?id=13469| url-status= live}}
File:Tantoo Cardinal HandPrint Edmonton.jpg
On August 23, 2011, Cardinal, Margot Kidder, and dozens of others were arrested while protesting the proposed extension of the Keystone Pipeline.{{cite news |title= Margot Kidder arrested at White House oil protest |url= https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/margot-kidder-arrested-at-white-house-oil-protest-1.1112044 |website= CBC.ca |publisher= CBC News |date= August 23, 2011 |access-date= February 25, 2021 |archive-date= November 19, 2012 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20121119114856/http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/story/2011/08/23/edm-keystone-xl-oilsands-protest-kidder-arrested.html |url-status= live }}
In 2012, Cardinal portrayed Regan in an all-aboriginal production of William Shakespeare's King Lear at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa, alongside a cast that also included August Schellenberg as Lear, Billy Merasty as Gloucester, Jani Lauzon in a dual role as Cordelia and the Fool, and Craig Lauzon as Kent.{{cite news| url= https://ottawacitizen.com/life/Aboriginal+cast+staging+King+Lear/6612207/story.html |title= Aboriginal cast in staging of King Lear| work= Ottawa Citizen| date= May 12, 2012| access-date= }}{{dead link|date=December 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
She played Marilyn Yarlott for three seasons as a recurring cast member in the Netflix series Longmire, a Crow hunter and medicine woman who lives alone in the vast wilderness of the Crow reservation.
In 2017 she was named the winner of the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television's Earle Grey Award for lifetime achievement.[http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/living/2017/1/12/tantoo-cardinal-among-those-getting-special-canadian-screen-awards.html "Tantoo Cardinal among those getting special Canadian Screen Awards"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170113164319/http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/living/2017/1/12/tantoo-cardinal-among-those-getting-special-canadian-screen-awards.html |date=January 13, 2017 }}. The Guardian, January 12, 2016. She has also won a Gemini Award, a National Aboriginal Achievement Award (now Indspire Award) and was inducted into Canada’s Walk of Fame.
In the 2018 film The Grizzlies, she plays a high school principal who is skeptical that a first-time teacher can address social issues in the northwestern Nunavut community of Kugluktuk.
On November 26, 2021, Cardinal and several other laureates received the Governor General's Performing Arts Awards after a nearly two-year delay due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[https://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/cardinal-reynolds-ohara-governor-general-award-1.6265369 "Tantoo Cardinal, Ryan Reynolds, Catherine O'Hara receive their Governor General's awards"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211128083919/https://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/cardinal-reynolds-ohara-governor-general-award-1.6265369 |date=November 28, 2021 }}. CBC News, November 27, 2021.
Personal life
Cardinal met her first husband, Fred Martin, while boarding at his family's home during her high school years in Edmonton. They were married from 1968 to 1978 and had a son, Cheyenne, prior to their divorce.
She had her second son, Clifford, with Beaver Richards.
From 1988 to 2000, Cardinal was married to actor John Lawlor, with whom she had a daughter, Riel.
Filmography
| class="wikitable"
|+Key | style="background:#FFFFCC;"| {{dagger|alt=Not yet released}} |Denotes works that have not yet been released |
= Film =
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |
|---|
| 1978
|Tantou | |
| 1981
|Indian Woman | |
| 1983
|Caroline | |
| rowspan="2" |1986
|Places Not Our Own |Rose | |
| Loyalties
|Rosanne Ladouceur |Nominated - Genie Award for Best Actress |
| 1987
|Annie | |
| 1988
|Sonny's mother | |
| rowspan="2" |1990
| |
| Dances With Wolves
|Black Shawl | |
| 1991
|Chomina's Wife | |
| rowspan="3" |1993
|Silent Tongue | |
| Where the Rivers Flow North
|Bangor | |
| Mustard Bath
|Sister Amantha | |
| rowspan="2" |1994
|Dawn Rainfeather | |
| Legends of the Fall
|Pet Decker | |
| rowspan="2" |1997
|{{sortname|The|Education of Little Tree|The Education of Little Tree (film)}} |Granma | |
| Silence
|Dolores | |
| rowspan="3" |1998
|Honey Moccasin |Honey Moccasin | |
| Smoke Signals
|Arlene Joseph | |
| Heartwood
|Violet Boucher | |
| rowspan="2" |1999
|{{sortname|The|Hi-Line}} |Singing Bird | |
| {{sortname|A|Stranger in the Kingdom|nolink=1}}
|Heaven Fontaine | |
| rowspan="2" |2000
|Postmark Paradise |Reenie | |
| Blood River
|Claire / Mattie |Short |
| 2002
|Ruth | |
| 2004
|Memory |Ida |Short |
| 2006
|Aunt Shadie / Rita | |
| rowspan="3" |2008
|Auntie Apple | |
| Ancestor Eyes
|Verna |Short |
| Mothers & Daughters
|Celine | |
| 2010
|Every Emotion Costs |Aunt Marcy | |
| 2011
|Shouting Secrets |June | |
| 2012
|Eden |The Nurse | |
| rowspan="2" |2013
|From Above |Older Venus | |
| Maïna
|Tekahera | |
| 2014
|Down Here |Stella Mitchell | |
| 2015
|Hope Bridge |Lana | |
| 2016
|ARQ |The Pope | |
| 2017
|Alice Crowheart | |
| rowspan="5" |2018
|Mary Birchbark | |
| data-sort-value="Grizzlies, The" | The Grizzlies
|Janice | |
| Through Black Spruce
|Mary-Lou | |
| Hold the Dark
|Illanaq | |
| Angelique's Isle
|Thunderbird Woman |
| 2019
|Ruth |
| 2020
|data-sort-value="Corruption of Divine Providence, The" | The Corruption of Divine Providence |Juniper Fairweather |
| rowspan="2"|2022
| Miss Hunter (voice) |
| data-sort-value="Last Manhunt, The" | The Last Manhunt
| Ticup |
| 2023
| Lizzie Q Nominated – Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture |
| 2024
| Inkwo for When the Starving Return | Auntie | |
| 2026
| style="background:#FFFFCC;"| Wildwood {{dagger}} | Carol Grod (voice) |
= Television =
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |
|---|
| 1981
|SCTV |extra |Episode 4/2-2 "Power Play"[http://sctvguide.ca/episodes/sctv_s42.htm#Show_2 4/2 - 2 I'm Taking My Own Head, Screwing It On Right, and no Guy's Gonna Tell Me It Ain't with The Plasmatics, Airdate: 23 October 1981] |
| 1984
|Annie |Main role |
| 1987
|Little Doe |Television film |
| 1990
|{{sortname|The|Campbells}} |Maria Brant |Episode: "Miles to Go" |
| 1991
|Lightning Field |Vivian |Television film |
| 1992
|Renee Stonehouse |Recurring role; 4 episodes |
| 1992–93
|Franois |Television mini-series |
| rowspan="2" |1993
|Helen |Episode: "Auggie's End" |
| Spirit Rider
|Marilyn St. Claire |Television film |
| 1993–95
|Snow Bird |Recurring role; 7 episodes |
| 1994–97
|Betty Moses |Recurring role; 7 episodes |
| rowspan="2" |1995
|(voice) |Television mini-series |
| Tecumseh: The Last Warrior
|Turtle Mother |Television film |
| 1996
|Nellie |Television film |
| rowspan="2" |1998
|Big Bear |Running Second |Television mini-series |
| Cold Squad
|Theresa Sandiman |Episode: "Salty Cheever" |
| rowspan="2" |2000
|Navigating the Heart |Mary |Television film |
| {{sortname|The|Lost Child|nolink=1}}
|Aunt Mary |Television film |
| 2001
|Walloha |Episode: "Red Wolf's Daughter" |
| 2002
|Judge Crowfoot |Episode: "Royalty" |
| 2003–06
|Betty Merasty |Recurring role; 22 episodes |
| rowspan="3" |2004
|Windy Acres |Aunt Laura |Recurring role; 7 episodes |
| H2O
|Grand Chief Katie Blackfire |Guest role; 2 episodes |
| {{sortname|A|Thief of Time|nolink=1}}
|Irene Musket |Television film |
| 2006
|Indian Summer: The Oka Crisis |Iba Beauvais |4 episodes |
| 2007
|Luna: Spirit of the Whale |Gloria Maquinna |Television film |
| rowspan="3" |2008
|{{sortname|The|Guard|The Guard (TV series)}} |Ursula |recurring role; 4 episodes |
| Just Breathe
|Heather |Television film |
| Changing Climates, Changing Times
|Grace Lajoie |Television film |
| rowspan="2" |2009
|Tales of an Urban Indian |Dianne |Television film |
| Dear Prudence
|Ruth Vigil |Television film |
| 2010
|Carol |Guest role; 2 episodes |
| 2012
|data-sort-value="Killing, The" | The Killing |Prostitute |Episode: "Keylela" |
| 2012–15
|Wilma Stoney |Recurring role; 18 episodes |
| 2013
|Aunt Mary |Episode: "Skeletons in the Closet" |
| 2014
|Pichette |Episode: "Lonely Hearts" |
| 2014–16
|Zoe's Mom |Recurring role; 5 episodes |
| 2015–17
|Marilyn Yarlott |Guest role; 4 episodes |
| rowspan="2" |2016
|Kamenna |Guest role; 2 episodes |
| On the Farm
|Ada Taylor |Television film |
| rowspan="2" |2017
|data-sort-value="Great Northern Candy Drop, The" | The Great Northern Candy Drop |Louisa (voice) |
| Godless
|Iyovi |Miniseries; 7 episodes |
| 2018
|Adawehi |Guest role; 2 episodes |
| 2019
|See |The Dreamer |Guest role; 4 episodes |
| 2019–20
|Sue Lynn Blackbird |Series regular |
| 2020
|Dr. Jane Munsee |Episode: "Radical" |
| 2021
|Julie Rouleau (voice) |Episode: "A Lot to be Desired" |
| 2022–present
|Moon (voice) |
| 2022
|Bea Mayer |
| 2024
|Echo |Chula |
= Audiobooks =
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |
|---|
| 2000
|Narrator | |
| 2019
|data-sort-value="Testaments, The" | The Testaments | | |
| 2019
|Islands of Decolonial Love: Stories and Songs{{cite web | url=https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/48615381-islands-of-decolonial-love | title=Islands of Decolonial Love: Stories & Songs }} by Leanne Betasamosake Simpson |Narrator | |
= Music videos =
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |
|---|
| 2019
|"Mehcinut" by Jeremy Dutcher | | |
See also
References
{{reflist}}
External links
{{Commons category}}
- {{IMDb name|0001987}}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20070929092151/http://www.filmreferencelibrary.ca/index.asp?layid=46&csid1=982&navid=87 Canadian Film Encyclopedia] [A publication of the Film Reference Library/a division of the Toronto International Film Festival Group]
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cardinal, Tantoo}}
Category:Actresses from Alberta
Category:Canadian film actresses
Category:Canadian stage actresses
Category:Canadian television actresses
Category:Members of the Order of Canada
Category:People from Fort McMurray
Category:20th-century Canadian actresses
Category:21st-century Canadian actresses
Category:20th-century First Nations people
Category:21st-century First Nations people
Category:20th-century First Nations women