René Highway (November 6, 1954 – October 19, 1990) was 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 ...

dancer and actor of

Cree The Cree ( cr, néhinaw, script=Latn, , etc.; french: link=no, Cri) are a Indigenous peoples of the Americas, North American Indigenous people. They live primarily in Canada, where they form one of the country's largest First Nations in Canada ...

descent from

Brochet, Manitoba Brochet () is an unincorporated community located in Northern Manitoba on the northern shore of Reindeer Lake near the Saskatchewan border; it is designated as a northern community. There is no year-round road service to the mostly Cree populati ...

. He was the brother of playwright

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 ...

, with whom he frequently collaborated during their time at

Native Earth Performing Arts Native Earth Performing Arts is a Canadian theatre company located in Toronto, Ontario. Founded in 1982, Native Earth is Canada's oldest professional Indigenous theatre company. Native Earth is dedicated to developing, producing and presenting pro ...

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

, and the partner of actor and singer

Micah Barnes Micah Barnes is a Canadian singer and songwriter. He has performed both as a solo artist and with the band the Nylons. Born in Vienna, Barnes is the son of composer, conductor and jazz drummer Milton Barnes (composer), Milton Barnes, and author, ...

. Highway studied dance at the

Toronto Dance Theatre The Toronto Dance Theatre is a Canadian modern dance company based in Toronto, Ontario. Described by ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' as "one of the foremost modern-dance companies in Canada", the company tours nationally and internationally and regula ...

, at the in Denmark, and at the

Native Canadian Centre of Toronto The Native Canadian Centre of Toronto, founded in 1962, is a membership based charity organization that provides social, recreational, cultural, and spiritual services to Indigenous people in Toronto. History In the post-World War II era, Verna Pa ...

. Highway helped to create the role of Nanabush in his brother's play ''

The Rez Sisters ''The Rez Sisters'' is a two-act play by Canadian writer Tomson Highway (Cree), first performed on November 26, 1986, by Act IV Theatre Company and Native Earth Performing Arts. ''The Rez Sisters'' is partially inspired by Michel Tremblay's play ...

'' (1986), and was the choreographer for ''

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 ...

'' (1989). He died of

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 m ...

-related causes in Toronto in 1990. His partner was singer

started the René Highway Foundation in his memory.

References

External links

* 1954 births 1990 deaths First Nations male actors Canadian male stage actors First Nations dancers Canadian gay actors AIDS-related deaths in Canada People from Northern Region, Manitoba Cree people Male actors from Saskatchewan LGBT dancers LGBT First Nations people 20th-century Canadian male actors Male actors from Manitoba 20th-century Canadian dancers 20th-century Canadian LGBT people {{canada-artist-stub

Further reading

References

External links