Tantoo Cardinal recipient of the August Schellenberg Award of Excellence

Tantoo Cardinal.
Tantoo Cardinal.

By Suzanne Keeptwo

Toronto’s 16th imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival recognizes recent works by indigenous artists in film, video, audio and digital media. This year, the festival will present the first annual August Schellenberg Award of Excellence initiated by the late actor’s wife, Joan Karasevich, and spearheaded by Métis artist, Jani Lauzon.

August Schellenberg, of Mohawk ancestry, grew up in the foster home of a Métis woman and her ten children in Montreal. In 1963 he saw a magazine article about Canada’s National Theatre School, located just around the corner. He walked over to enquire about applying and was told he needed one Shakespearean and one contemporary monologue – references he had no experience with. He auditioned and that was the beginning of an illustrious acting career with film and television roles including Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, Blackrobe, Dreamkeeper,

and Free Willy. His final stage role – at the age of 76 – was one he dared to imagine back in 1967 when working with Chief Dan George. Schellenberg envisioned an all-Native cast of Shakespeare’s King Lear and, 45 years later it was produced at the National Arts Centre with “Augie” playing the lead.

“Augie, was a frontrunner as a Canadian actor. I felt he should be remembered in some way” says Joan who spent over 50 years with her beloved. Jani Lauzon, had the idea to honor an indigenous actor who has “stepped out beyond their world” rather than for recognition of a specific role. As well as initiating partnerships, Jani formed part of the selection committee along with Joan and a representative from imagiNATIVE. It was an easy decision to grant the first Award of Excellence to Tantoo Cardinal in recognition of her outstanding acting career and community work.

The young Tantoo, born of a Métis mother and raised by her Dene/Nakoda grandmother attended high school in Edmonton, over 400 kilometres from her home in Anzac, Alberta. She heard about the city’s Native Friendship Centre and went there to volunteer. “I met other people who came from a common experience. The movement was on. That’s how I met my fellow rabble-rousers”. She became involved with the Métis Nation of Alberta and, recognized for her ability to address a crowd, was contacted by consummate politician Harry Daniels who had been asked to recommend women for a role in a CBC docudrama he had been cast in. Tantoo soon realized that “by having a voice, I could tell another side of the story to the people working within film” typically ignorant of indigenous realities.

Tantoo met Augie on the set of Death Hunt in 1981 and there was an instant connection because “it was like a meeting of family” she explains. She recounts when Augie came to the defense of someone on set being bullied by one of the actors. “Augie had a sense of natural justice”, she recalls. The two actors worked on numerous productions together including the Shakespearean play in 2012. With Cree as her first language, Tantoo mastered “the olde English” proving Augie’s point that Native actors can succeed in classical theatre.

Tantoo, a much celebrated artist, continues to bring awareness to important issues. “Our relationship with Mother Earth is the cause closest to my heart” she says. In fact, when in Ottawa, the co-stars agreed to a grassroots fundraiser to aid the Algonquins of Barrier Lake (QC) who struggle against the decimation of their homelands. The actors fittingly remain connected through this award as trailblazers, co-stars, friends, role models, and humanitarians.

The Award of Excellence will be presented during imagiNATIVE’s Awards show on October 17, 2015. Sponsorship was provided by ACTRA, ACTRA Performers’ Rights Society, individual donors, and family and friends of the Schellenbergs. imagiNATIVE continues to seek public donations for the August Schellenberg Award of Excellence to honor Indigenous actors and the impact of their careers, their mentorship, and community work. Donations can be made through www.CANADAHELPS.ORG/DN/8433.

Suzanne Keeptwo (Métis) is a freelance writer living in unsurrendered Algonquin territory.