Collective Members Biographies
Taajii Dorothy Cameron (cultural and
spiritual mentor to OKW) is an Ojibwe Anishinaabekwe from Wabaseemoong
First Nation in northwestern Ontario. She is mother of four and
has two grandchildren. She has raised her family in Shoal Lake First
Nation, and in Curve Lake First Nation where she currently resides.
For the past 22 years, Taajii has worked with diverse age groups
and in many communities as an Anishinaabe Ojibwe language Instructor,
spiritual messenger and cultural awareness educator.
Sarah DeCarlo (co-founder and current
member of OKW) is an Ojibway filmmaker/musician and community arts
and access advocate. Her films have screened at Optic Nerve, Image+Nation,
Imaginenative and Weeneebeg Film Festivals.
She has had a wide range of experiences working in First Nations
communities in various capacities. For nine years she has worked
with the Cree Nation of Wemindji located in Northern Quebec completing
various contracts including proposal development, community development
and as a youth arts and video animator.
She was the Marketing and Outreach Coordinator at the Centre for
Indigenous Theatre and has worked by contract with the Department
of Canadian Heritage as well as the Laidlaw Foundation.
Sarah is an Ontario Arts Council grant recipient and has carried
out several youth based video workshops in Toronto, Peterborough
as well as in remote communities. She has continuously worked by
contact producing short promotional films for various grassroots
organizations. She has also multiple experiences as a juror on grant
selection committees.
In 2006/07 she worked with Isuma Distribution International on
their Indigenous Film Network Initiative assisting in the coordination
of a large scale tour of First Nations communities in Quebec and
Ontario. She also attended the tour delivering workshops and film
screenings in 6 communities.
Sarah has a wide range of video production and post-production
skills and possesses her own gear. She specializes in teaching video
skills in many communities working most closely with youth.
Sarah studied Native and Political Studies at Trent University
while having also completed the Canadian Film and Television Production
Association's Aboriginal Producer Training Program with the Liaison
of Independent Filmmakers of Toronto in 2005/06.
Sarah has since been involved in a wealth of film and video workshops
as experiences.
William Kingfisher (current member
of OKW) is Anishnaabe from Rama, Ontario and is a fourth year Ph.D.
candidate in the Indigenous Studies Department at Trent University.
His dissertation research explores contemporary aboriginal visual
culture, focusing on art, performance and art outside the gallery
system. He has been involved in many theatre productions at the
Nozhem First People's Performance Space at Trent University. This
has helped William to think about storytelling and how important
it is for native people today. He has worked both in the creative
part of the production such as creating the story, writing, and
acting, as well as being involved in the technical side of things,
such as lighting and creating projections. He has also worked at
the Canadian Museum of Civilization from 1999 - 2003 as a researcher/curator
focussing specifically on contemporary native art.
Patti Shaughnessy (co-founder
and current member of OKW) is a member of Curve Lake First Nation,
also known to the local folk as, Wshkiigimong, a beautiful pennisula
located in south eastern Ontario. Wshkiigimong is home to a small
band of Anishnaabeg (Ojibway).
Patti works as an actor and arts programmer. During 2002-2004,
Patti studied at the Centre for Indigenous Theatre (Toronto, ON)
and at the Banff Centre for the Arts Aboriginal Dance Program.
Most recently, Patti has been touring throughout Canada with Toronto
based company, Red Sky Performance in Drew Hayden Taylor's Raven
Stole the Sun and made her debut at Theatre NorthWest (Prince
George, BC) in Tomson Highway's The Rez Sisters in October/November
2007. Patti reprised her role as Marie-Adele Starblanket in Magnus
Theatre's (Thunder Bay) production of The Rez Sisters in
October/November 2008.
Patti also has an extensive background in arts administration.
In 2001, Patti worked as Festival Director of the Optic Nerve Moving
Media Festival through the Peterborough Arts Umbrella. In 2004,
Patti worked on the inaugural Harbourfront Centre's Planet IndigenUs:
an International Indigenous Multidisciplinary Arts Festival in Toronto,
ON, as a festival coordinator. In 2005, Patti settled in Peterborough
working with Peterborough New Dance/Public Energy, an animator of
contemporary dance as a program coordinator. Patti assisted in the
coordination of Indigenous Dancelands, a contemporary dance tour
that presented four Indigenous contemporary dance artists in four
Canadian cities. Patti has taken several contracts with Indigenous
Performance Initiatives to assist with the presentation and promotion
of Indigenous Arts Programs at Trent University. At present, Patti
continues to work with Public Energy assisting with performance
programming with approved Trillium
Sara Roque (co-founder and former member
of OKW) is a media artist, writer, administrator and activist who
has worked on a number of community based arts projects in different
roles including development coordinator, event coordinator, researcher
and artist. Her work experience includes contracts with The Centre
for Indigenous Theatre, Te Wairiki Purea Trust, and Fourth Line
Theatre. Most recently she was appointed as the acting Aboriginal
arts officer at Ontario Arts Council. She is co-founder of the O'Kaadenigan
Wiingashk Collective based in the Kawarthas, a collective dedicated
to raising the profile of Indigenous artists and training in the
region. Her short films have played at various film festivals including
ImagineNative Film Festival, Splice This Super 8 Film Festival and
Muchmusic broadcast. Current artistic projects include director
for Six Miles Deep, a documentary exploring the role of traditional
women leaders of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy produced by the National
Film Board of Canada. She is Ojibwe-Metis from the community of
Killarney (Shebohnaning) Ontario
Artists Biographies
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