Cheri Maracle is an

Aboriginal Canadian In Canada, Indigenous groups comprise the First Nations, Inuit and Métis. Although ''Indian'' is a term still commonly used in legal documents, the descriptors ''Indian'' and '' Eskimo'' have fallen into disuse in Canada, and most consider the ...

actress and musician of

Mohawk Mohawk may refer to: Related to Native Americans *Mohawk people, an indigenous people of North America (Canada and New York) *Mohawk language, the language spoken by the Mohawk people *Mohawk hairstyle, from a hairstyle once thought to have been t ...

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

descent.

Early life

Maracle graduated in 1989 from

Prince Rupert Secondary School Prince Rupert Secondary was a public high school in Prince Rupert, British Columbia. Prince Rupert Secondary was a part of School District 52 Prince Rupert. Transition To Middle School On December 9, 2009, at a regularly scheduled Board meetin ...

. At seventeen, she moved to

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

to study theatre at

Capilano University Capilano University (CapU) is a teaching-focused public university based in North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, located on the slopes of the North Shore Mountains, with programming that also serves the Sea-to-Sky Corridor and the Sunshin ...

and the Spirit Song Native Indian Theatre School. She is a member of the

Six Nations of the Grand River Six Nations (or Six Nations of the Grand River, french: Réserve des Six Nations, see, Ye:i’ Níónöëdzage:h) is demographically the largest First Nations reserve in Canada. As of the end of 2017, it has a total of 27,276 members, 12,848 of w ...

First Nation Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...

Career

Maracle is best known for her roles in the television series '' Blackfly'' and ''

Moccasin Flats ''Moccasin Flats'' is a Canadian drama television series that ran for three full seasons. The show, which has aired on the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN) and Showcase Television since 2004, is co-produced by Big Soul Productions ...

'', the 2007 film ''

Tkaronto ''Tkaronto'' is a Canadian drama film, which premiered in 2007 at the imagineNATIVE Film and Media Arts Festival in Toronto. Directed by Shane Belcourt, the film went into commercial release in the summer of 2008.Jennie Punter"'I didn't have time ...

'' and stage productions of

Tomson Highway Tomson Highway (born 6 December 1951) is an Indigenous Canadian playwright, novelist, and children's author. He is best known for his plays ''The Rez Sisters'' and ''Dry Lips Oughta Move to Kapuskasing'', both of which won the Dora Mavor Moore ...

's '' Ernestine Shuswap Gets Her Trout''. She has a recurring role on '' Degrassi: Next Class'' as Ms. Cardinal, the mother of Grace Cardinal. She appeared in

Marie Clements Marie Clements (born January 10, 1962) See p. 147. is a Canadian Métis playwright, performer, director, producer and screenwriter. Marie was founding artistic director of urban ink productions, and is currently co-artistic director of red diva pr ...

' 2017 musical documentary on Indigenous history, '' The Road Forward''. In 2019, she played Verna in the

National Arts Centre The National Arts Centre (NAC) (french: Centre national des Arts) is a Arts centre, performing arts organisation in Ottawa, Ontario, along the Rideau Canal. It is based in the eponymous National Arts Centre (building), National Arts Centre build ...

's production of Clements' ''

The Unnatural and Accidental Women ''The Unnatural and Accidental Women'' is a play by Metis playwright Marie Clements about the disappearance of multiple Indigenous women from the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver whose deaths of extremely high blood-alcohol levels were all caused ...

''. She has been nominated twice for the K.M. Hunter Theatre award for her theatrical work. She was also nominated for the

Canadian Screen Awards The Canadian Screen Awards (french: link=no, Les prix Écrans canadiens) are awards given for artistic and technical merit in the film industry recognizing excellence in Canadian film, English-language television, and digital media (web series) p ...

in 2014 for her performance as Sarah Bull on the TV series Blackstone. From 2006 to 2008 she was an artistic associate of the

Dora Mavor Moore Award The Dora Mavor Moore Award (also known as the Dora Award) is an award presented annually by the Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts which honours theatre, dance and opera productions in Toronto. Named after Dora Mavor Moore, who helped estab ...

-winning Aboriginal women's theatre company, Turtle Gals. As a musician, she has performed as a backing vocalist for

Jerry Alfred and the Medicine Beat Jerry Alfred (born 1955 in Mayo, Yukon) is a Northern Tutchone musician living in Pelly Crossing, Yukon. He received a 1996 Juno Award for his recording ''ETSI Shon'' (Grandfather Song) in the category Aboriginal Recording of the Year. His mu ...

Tamara Podemski Tamara Podemski (born October 16, 1977) is a Canadian film and television actress and writer.Rick Garrick"Indigenous multidisciplinary artist to host 13th Annual Outside Looking In Gala in Toronto this Spring" ''Anishinabek News'', March 9, 2020. ...

and

Sandy Scofield Sandy may refer to: People and fictional characters *Sandy (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Sandy (surname), a list of people *Sandy (singer), Brazilian singer and actress Sandy Leah Lima (born 1983) *(Sandy) A ...

, and as both a lead and supporting vocalist for Tiyoweh and The Showbiz Indians. She performs with her quartet at various jazz and blues festivals across Canada. She also frequently performs original compositions and contemporary and classic jazz standards with her piano partner, Brendan Peltier. She has also performed in a one-woman musical, ''Paddle Song'', about the life of Mohawk poet

Pauline Johnson Emily Pauline Johnson (10 March 1861 – 7 March 1913), also known by her Mohawk stage name ''Tekahionwake'' (pronounced ''dageh-eeon-wageh'', ), was a Canadian poet, author, and performer who was popular in the late 19th and early 20th centur ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maracle, Cheri Canadian television actresses Canadian film actresses Canadian stage actresses Canadian women rock singers First Nations actresses First Nations musicians Canadian Mohawk people Living people Actresses from Ontario 21st-century Canadian actresses 21st-century First Nations people 1970 births Capilano University alumni 21st-century Canadian women singers