Evan Tlesla Adams (born November 15, 1966) is an

Indigenous Canadian In Canada, Indigenous groups comprise the First Nations in Canada, First Nations, Inuit and Métis people in Canada, Métis. Although ''Indian'' is a term still commonly used in legal documents, the descriptors ''Indian'' and ''Eskimo'' have fal ...

actor, playwright, and

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

. A

Coast Salish The Coast Salish is a group of ethnically and linguistically related Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast, living in the Canadian province of British Columbia and the U.S. states of Washington and Oregon. They speak one of the Coas ...

from the

Sliammon First Nation The Tla'amin First Nation (Comox language: ɬəʔamɛn), formerly Sliammon Indian Band or Sliammon First Nation, is a First Nations in Canada, First Nations self governing nation whose lands and traditional territories are located on the upper Su ...

near

Powell River, British Columbia Powell River is a city on the northern Sunshine Coast of southwestern British Columbia, Canada. Most of its population lives near the eastern shores of Malaspina Strait, which is part of the larger Georgia Strait between Vancouver Island and the ...

, he is best known internationally for his roles in the films of

Sherman Alexie Sherman Joseph Alexie Jr. (born October 7, 1966) is a Spokane- Coeur d'Alene-Native American novelist, short story writer, poet, screenwriter, and filmmaker. His writings draw on his experiences as an Indigenous American with ancestry from se ...

, as Thomas Builds-the-Fire in the 1998 film ''

Smoke Signals The smoke signal is one of the oldest forms of long-distance communication. It is a form of visual communication used over a long distance. In general smoke signals are used to transmit news, signal danger, or to gather people to a common area ...

'' and Seymour Polatkin in the 2002 film ''

The Business of Fancydancing ''The Business of Fancydancing'' is a 2002 film written and directed by Sherman Alexie. It is loosely based on his 1992 book of the same name, a collection of stories and poems. Plot The film explores the tension between two Spokane men who grew ...

''.

Career

Entertainment

He won an

Independent Spirit Award The Independent Spirit Awards (abbreviated Spirit Awards and originally known as the FINDIE or Friends of Independents Awards), founded in 1984, are awards dedicated to independent filmmakers. Winners were typically presented with acrylic glas ...

in 1999 for Best Debut Performance for his role in ''Smoke Signals'', and a Los Angeles Outfest award in 2002 for his role in ''Fancydancing''. In Canada, Adams has acted primarily in television, including roles in ''

The Beachcombers ''The Beachcombers'' is a Canadian comedy-drama television series that ran on CBC Television from October 1, 1972, to December 12, 1990. With over 350 episodes, it is one of the longest-running dramatic series ever made for English-language Canad ...

'', "Lost in the Barrens" ''

Da Vinci's Inquest ''Da Vinci's Inquest'' is a Canadian dramatic television series which originally aired on CBC Television from 1998 to 2005. While never a ratings blockbuster, the critically acclaimed show did attract a loyal following, and ultimately seven seaso ...

'', ''

Neon Rider ''Neon Rider'' is a Canadian drama television series which first aired between 1990 and 1995. Created by Winston Rekert and Danny Virtue, the show was about the title character, a psychologist named Michael Terry (Rekert) who, after writing a succe ...

'', '' These Arms of Mine'', ''

Da Vinci's City Hall ''Da Vinci's City Hall'' is a Canadian dramatic television series, which premiered on CBC Television on 25 October 2005 and ended on 28 February 2006. It is a spin-off of the long-running Canadian series ''Da Vinci's Inquest''. The creator, write ...

'', ''

The L Word ''The L Word'' is a television drama that aired on Showtime from January 18, 2004 to March 8, 2009. The series follows the lives of a group of lesbian and bisexual women who live in West Hollywood, California. The premise originated with Ilene Ch ...

'', and ''Wolf Canyon'', and stage roles in ''

Lear Lear or Leir may refer to: Acronyms * Liga de Escritores y Artistas Revolucionarios, a Mexican association of revolutionary artists and writers * Low Energy Ion Ring, an ion pre-accelerator of the Large Hadron Collider at CERN ** Low Energy Antipr ...

'' and ''

Dry Lips Oughta Move to Kapuskasing ''Dry Lips Oughta Move to Kapuskasing'' is a play by Canadian writer Tomson Highway ( Cree), which premiered in 1989 at Theatre Passe-Muraille in Toronto. Character List * Nanabush (playing the spirit of Gazelle Nataways, Patsy Pegahmagahbow, and ...

''. He appeared in the 1990 made for TV movie "Lost in the Barrens". He also appeared in the documentary film '' Just Watch Me: Trudeau and the '70s Generation'', speaking about his own experience as a young gay, First Nations man growing up in Canada during the Pierre Trudeau's era. His plays, including ''Dreams of Sheep'', ''Snapshots'', ''Dirty Dog River'' and ''Janice's Christmas'', have been produced across Canada and internationally. He appears in the 2017 films ''

Indian Horse ''Indian Horse'' () is a novel by Canadian writer Richard Wagamese, published by Douglas & McIntyre in 2012."Indian Horse is a dark ride". '' Calgary Herald'', February 28, 2012. The novel centres on Saul Indian Horse, a First Nations boy from Ont ...

'' and ''

Kayak to Klemtu ''Kayak to Klemtu'' is a Canadian drama film, directed by Zoe Leigh Hopkins and released in 2017.Alison Gillmor, "Movie pushes environmental message: Kayak to Klemtu a protest against supertankers, pipelines in First Nations territories". ''Winn ...

'', and the 2020 film ''

Indian Road Trip ''Indian Road Trip'' is a Canadian comedy film, directed by Allan W. Hopkins and released in 2020. The film stars Ajuawak Kapashesit and Paul C. Grenier as Hank and Cody, two aimless young First Nations cousins in British Columbia who are planning ...

''.

Medical

Adams has also worked extensively with First Nations health programs in Canada, including

HIV/AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual ...

education and alcohol and drug abuse treatment. In 2002, Adams completed a medical degree at the

University of Calgary The University of Calgary (U of C or UCalgary) is a public research university located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The University of Calgary started in 1944 as the Calgary branch of the University of Alberta, founded in 1908, prior to being ins ...

. He completed his residency at St. Paul's Hospital/UBC (as Chief Resident), a Masters of Public Health from Johns Hopkins University, and served as the Deputy Provincial Health Officer with the British Columbia Ministry of health. In April 2007, Adams was appointed the first-ever Aboriginal Health Physician Advisor for the province of

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

. In April 2012, Adams was made Deputy Provincial

Health Officer A medical officer of health, also known as a medical health officer, chief health officer, chief public health officer or district medical officer, is the title commonly used for the senior government official of a health department, usually at a m ...

for British Columbia by Dr.

Perry Kendall Perry Kendall, (born 1943) is a Canadian Public health physician who was Provincial Health Officer (PHO) for the Canadian province of British Columbia's health ministry from 1999-2018 and was awarded the Order of British Columbia for contributio ...

. On December 1, 2014, Adams became the Chief Medical Officer of the

First Nations Health Authority The First Nations Health Authority (FNHA) is a health service delivery organization responsible for administering a variety of health programs and service for First Nations people living in BC. Overview The FNHA is part of a First Nations Health ...

in British Columbia.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Adams, Evan 20th-century Canadian dramatists and playwrights 21st-century Canadian dramatists and playwrights Canadian male film actors Canadian male stage actors Canadian male television actors First Nations male actors First Nations dramatists and playwrights Canadian gay actors Canadian LGBT writers Male actors from British Columbia 1966 births Living people Gay film actors Gay television actors Gay stage actors Gay dramatists and playwrights Canadian public health doctors Canadian male dramatists and playwrights Indspire Awards 20th-century Canadian male writers 21st-century Canadian male writers 20th-century First Nations writers 21st-century First Nations writers LGBT First Nations people First Nations academics University of Calgary alumni Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health alumni