Santee Smith

Santee Smith is a Kahnyen’kehàka (Mohawk) multidisciplinary artist, dancer and choreographer from Six Nations of the Grand River. In 2019, she was appointed Chancellor of McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.

Santee Smith
Smith receiving the 2019 Johanna Metcalf Performing Arts Prize
19th Chancellor of McMaster University
Assumed office
November 21, 2019
Preceded bySuzanne Labarge
Personal details
Children1[1]
Alma materMcMaster University

Biography

Early life and education

Smith grew up on the Six Nations of the Grand River reserve.[1] She is a member of the Mohawk Nation.[2][3]

When Smith was three years old, she was hit by a vehicle, resulting in injuries that placed her in a body cast. That same year, she broke her other leg in a cycling accident.[1][4] Smith began dancing as a form of physical therapy. At age 11, she was accepted into Canada's National Ballet School, where she trained for six years.[1][2]

Smith attended McMaster University, earning degrees in physical education and psychology. She also earned a master's degree in dance from York University in Toronto.[2]

Artistic career

Smith founded and serves as the artistic director of Kaha:wi Dance Theatre, a Six Nations company based in Toronto.[5] In 2013, she won a Dora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding Choreography for Susuriwka - willow bridge.[6] Along with her co-dancers, she won a 2019 Dora Award for Outstanding Performance of An Ensemble for Blood Tides.[7]

Smith was the choreographer for a 2017 Canadian Opera Company production of Louis Riel, an opera based on the story of the Métis leader Louis Riel.[8] The same year, she designed the opening ceremony act for the North American Indigenous Games, held in Toronto.[9]

With Kaha:wi Dance Theatre, Smith created The Mush Hole: Truth, Acknowledgement, Resilience, a performance piece about the Mohawk Institute, a residential school for First Nations children that operated in Brantford, Ontario.[10][11][12] In 2019, the show premiered at Young People's Theatre in Toronto, before embarking on a North American tour.[11]

Chancellorship

In 2019, Smith was named the new Chancellor of McMaster University, succeeding Suzanne Labarge as the honourary head of the university.[4] She is the first Indigenous person to hold this position.[13] Smith was installed into this role on November 21, 2019.[14]

References
  1. Ginsberg, Janie (2015-07-23). "Dancer Santee Smith: A story of passion and resilience". The Hamilton Spectator. ISSN 1189-9417. Retrieved 2020-04-11.
  2. "McMaster names Indigenous artist Santee Smith its next chancellor". CBC News. 2019-02-14. Retrieved 2020-04-11.
  3. Boutsalis, Kelly (2019-03-04). "Interview: Santee Smith becomes McMaster University's chancellor". NOW Magazine. Retrieved 2020-04-11.
  4. McNeil, Mark (2019-02-15). "New McMaster chancellor expected to bring Indigenous pride and artistic flair to post". The Hamilton Spectator. ISSN 1189-9417. Retrieved 2020-04-11.
  5. Lake, Michael (2017-09-21). "Dancing to the power of women at Prismatic". The Coast. Retrieved 2020-04-11.
  6. Nestruck, J. Kelly (2013-06-25). "A Cinderella story at theatre's 2013 Dora Awards". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2020-04-11.
  7. "Dora Award Recipients". Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts. Retrieved 2020-04-11.
  8. Doherty, Michael (2017-04-20). "The real challenges of reviving a Louis Riel opera". Maclean's. Retrieved 2020-04-11.
  9. Mullin, Mallone (2017-07-14). "A sneak peek at the Indigenous Games' opening act". CBC Sports. Retrieved 2020-04-11.
  10. Simpson, Drew (2018-11-22). "The Mush Hole Project". The Silhouette. Retrieved 2020-04-11.
  11. "'The Mush Hole' confronts the legacy of trauma of residential schools". kawarthaNOW. 2019-10-21. Retrieved 2020-04-11.
  12. Fricker, Karen (2019-10-19). "In the Mush Hole, the terrible legacy of residential schools is impossible to ignore". The Star. Retrieved 2020-04-11.
  13. Casey, Liam (2019-02-14). "McMaster University names Indigenous artist Santee Smith as next chancellor". The Star. Retrieved 2020-04-11.
  14. Laux, Sara (2019-11-22). "Santee Smith installed as McMaster's 19th chancellor". McMaster Daily News. Retrieved 2020-04-11.
Academic offices
Preceded by
Suzanne Labarge		 Chancellor of McMaster University
21 November 2019 – Present		 Incumbent
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