imported>Smasongarrison: Copying from Category:20th-century First Nations writers to Category:20th-century First Nations women Diffusing per WP:DIFFUSE and/or WP:ALLINCLUDED using Cat-a-lot

2025-04-22T03:14:21Z

Copying from Category:20th-century First Nations writers to Category:20th-century First Nations women Diffusing per WP:DIFFUSE and/or WP:ALLINCLUDED using Cat-a-lot

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{{Short description|Canadian film director}}
{{Infobox person
|image= Shirley Cheechoo horizontal.jpg
|imagesize=
|caption=Cheechoo in 2022
|honorific-suffix={{post-nominals|country=CAN|CM}}
|birth_name=
|birth_date={{birth year and age|1952}}
|birth_place=[[Eastmain]], [[Quebec]], Canada
|death_date=
|death_place=
|occupation=Actor, writer, producer, director & visual artist, chancellor
|spouse=Blake Debassige
}}
'''Shirley Cheechoo''' {{post-nominals|country=CAN|CM}} ({{langx|cr|ᔒᓕᒋᒍ }}; born 1952) is a Canadian [[Cree]] actress, writer, producer, director, and visual artist, best known for her [[solo-voice]] or [[monodrama]] play ''[[Path With No Moccasins]]'', as well as her work with [[De-Ba-Jeh-Mu-Jig]] theatre group. Her first break came in 1985 when she was cast on the CBC's first nations TV series ''[[Spirit Bay]]'', and later, in 1997, she found a role on the CBC's TV series ''[[The Rez]]''.

She was named chancellor of [[Brock University]] in July 2015,<ref>[http://www.stcatharinesstandard.ca/2015/07/16/acclaimed-native-actordirector-named-brock-chancellor "Acclaimed native actor/director named Brock chancellor"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150722091918/http://www.stcatharinesstandard.ca/2015/07/16/acclaimed-native-actordirector-named-brock-chancellor |date=2015-07-22 }}. ''[[St. Catharines Standard]], July 16, 2015.</ref> the institution's first female and first aboriginal chancellor. She held the position to 2020.

==Biography==
Shirley Cheechoo was born in 1952 in [[Eastmain, Quebec]],<ref name ="turtleislandcheechoo">{{Cite web|title = Shirley Cheechoo Internationally Acclaimed Filmmaker/ Artist|url = http://www.turtleisland.org/discussion/viewtopic.php?p=5182|website = Turtle Island Native Network|accessdate = 2015-10-26|date = 2005-02-24}}</ref> and grew up in [[Moose Factory]] and [[Hearst, Ontario|Hearst]], [[Ontario]]. Shirley spent her early life on traplines with her parents and brothers, but at the age of nine was sent to a residential school, [[Shingwauk Indian Residential School]]. At this school Cheechoo, like many other residential school survivors, experienced violence and abuse and was told that "her parents would die if she ran away."<ref>{{cite book|last1=Wilmer|first1=S.E.|title=Native American Performance and Representation|date=2011|publisher=University of Arizona Press|location=Arizona|isbn=9780816502745|page=126}}</ref> After leaving school at fifteen, Cheechoo experienced problems with substance abuse, but eventually, she turned her life around and began to work in film and theatre to explore themes of healing and [[survivance]] post-trauma. Her experiences at a residential school and her road to healing are documented in her stage play 1991 ''Path with No Moccasins.''<ref name ="turtleislandcheechoo" />

Shirley attended art classes at the [[Manitou Arts Foundation]] during the summer of 1970.

==The De-ba-jeh-mu-jig years==

Shirley founded De-ba-jeh-mu-jig theatre, which developed out of the children's theatre. After starting the theatre company, partner Blake Debassige, a visual artist, served on the board of directors and as president of the board during the early years of [[De-Ba-Jeh-Mu-Jig]] theatre group.

During her time at Debaj, Shirley fulfilled the role of [[artistic director]], president of the board of directors, as well as fulfilling much of the administrative roles, actor, and playwright.

Shirley is the first [[First Nations in Canada|First Nations]] woman to "write, produce, direct, and act in a feature length film from Canada".<ref name="whetung">{{Cite web|title=Shirley Cheechoo |url=http://www.whetung.com/cheechoo.html |date=2015-02-27 |accessdate=2015-10-26 |website=Whetung Ojibwa Crafts and Art Gallery |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150227055704/http://www.whetung.com/cheechoo.html |archivedate=February 27, 2015 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title = Moose River Crossing The Movie|url = http://www.mooserivercrossingthemovie.com/cast.php?cst=Shirley|accessdate = 2015-10-26}}</ref>

==Career==

Shirley first gained national attention with ''Path With No Moccasins''. Her directorial debut was with a short film called ''Silent Tears'', which won several film festival awards for Best Short Film and was "screened at the 1998Sundance Film Festival."<ref name = "whetung"/>

Her first feature film was ''Backroads'', a journey into the harsh contemporary life of Cree women. The movie was financed and executive-produced by Offline Entertainment Group.<ref>Aleiss, Angela. "Making War Bonnets Old Hat: Native American Filmmakers are Forging into Hollywood with Projects Involving Real Human Concerns," ''Los Angeles Times'', August 15, 1999.</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title = Shirley Cheechoo|url = http://filmcatalog.nmai.si.edu/person/895/|website = National Museum of the American Indian|accessdate = 2015-10-26|date = 2014}}</ref>

Shirley realized that she could "ease a pain or raise an issue with her film work" and so dedicated herself to creating film by enrolling in writing classes, director's labs, acting workshops and film schools.<ref name="naaf.ca">[http://www.naaf.ca/html/shirley_cheechoo_e.html Shirley Cheechoo], [[Indspire|National Aboriginal Achievement Foundation]] {{dead link|date=October 2015}}</ref>

Much of her art is based on biographical elements. ''Path With No Moccasins'' gave Shirley the opportunity to "speak about her life and the struggle to retain her identity, and Cree heritage".<ref name="artworldofsherway.com">[http://www.artworldofsherway.com/Featured%20Artists/Cheechoo/Cheechoo.htm/ Shirley Cheechoo], Art World of Sherway {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131031030351/http://www.artworldofsherway.com/Featured%20Artists/Cheechoo/Cheechoo.htm/ |date=October 31, 2013 }}</ref> ''Silent Tears'' chronicles the events of a "harsh winter trip with her parents to a northern trap line when she was eight years old".<ref name="artworldofsherway.com" />

In order to promote Aboriginal artists, Shirley and Blake Debassige co-own [[Kasheese Studios]] art gallery. She is also the president of Spoken Song film production company and founded the [[Weengushk Film Institute]] on [[Manitoulin Island]] that will train, develop and guide independent filmmakers.<ref name="naaf.ca"/> Through the Weengushk Film Institute, she also launched the annual [[Weengushk International Film Festival]] in 2018.

Her artwork is inspired by [[Woodlands style|Woodlands School]], which is a concept given birth by [[Norval Morrisseau]]. Her art has been exhibited around the world, and her commissions include:

*Christmas cards for UNICEF
*Amnesty International
*The Ontario Native Women's Association
*The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto

==Cultural work==

She is a mentor to many in the Native arts community and one of Canada's most well-known and respected artists. She visits other communities and schools and holds workshops. On the topic of visiting schools to host acting and playwrighting workshops, Shirley has said{{cn|date=November 2022}}

<blockquote>the kids that come into the theatre, into the drama workshops, are the kids that I pick. I feel that they need some kind of self-esteem, and drama does it. Anything in the arts gives these kids a lot of self-esteem ... the arts are really important for children and they're not taught in the schools</blockquote>

Shirley is concerned with Indigenous people's complacency with "small advancements and the slight changes that appear when it comes to equality and respect" and believes that "We must continue to fight in the most positive way to try and find a level playing field for Indigenous people to work, live, and create in the main".<ref name="naaf.ca"/>

In February 2008, Shirley was awarded a [[Indspire Awards|Lifetime Achievement Award]] in the area of art by the [[Indspire|National Aboriginal Achievement Foundation]].<ref>[https://indspire.ca/laureate/shirley-cheechoo/ Shirley Cheechoo], Indspire</ref> She was also awarded the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Award in 2013 to recognize her commitment to education.<ref>{{Cite web|title = Weengushk founder Shirley Cheechoo receives Diamond Jubilee Award|url = http://www.manitoulin.ca/2013/08/23/weengushk-founder-shirley-cheechoo-receives-diamond-jubilee-award/|website = Manitoulin Expositor|accessdate = 2015-10-26|date = 2013-08-23}}</ref> She also received the Anishinabek Nation Lifetime Achievement Award in 2019.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.manitoulin.ca/four-islanders-to-receive-lifetime-achievement-awards/|title=Four Islanders to receive lifetime achievement awards|last=Schlote|first=Warren|date=2019-07-17|website=The Manitoulin Expositor|language=en-CA|access-date=2020-01-19}}</ref>

==Writings and appearances==

===Plays===

*''Path With No Moccasins'' (1991)
*''Tangled Sheets'' (1994)
*''Your Dream Was Mine'' (2005)

===Film===
*''Shadows in Deep Water'' (?) - director
*''[[Utshimassits: Place of the Boss]]'' (1996) - narrator
*''Silent Tears'' (1998) - director, writer
*''Backroads'' (aka ''Bearwalker'') (2000) - director, writer
*''Tracks in the Snow'' (2001) - productor, director
*''Pikutiskaau (Mother Earth)'' (2003) - director
*''In Shadow'' (2003) - director
*''[[Johnny Tootall]]'' (2005) - director, writer
*''Moose River Crossing'' (2013) - director, writer<ref>{{Cite web|title = Doug Bedard Discusses Residential School Drama 'Moose River Crossing'|url = http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2013/11/05/doug-bedard-discusses-residential-school-drama-moose-river-crossing-152089|website = [[Indian Country Today Media Network]]|accessdate = 2015-10-26|date = 2013-11-05}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url = https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2339128/|title = Moose River Crossing (2013)|date = |accessdate = |website = IMDb|publisher = |last = |first = }}</ref>

===Media appearances===
*''[[Spirit Bay]]'' (1984)
*''Medicine River'' (1993)
*''[[The Rez]]'' (1996)
*''Song of Hiawatha'' (1997)
*''Silent Tears'' (1998)
*''[[Johnny Greyeyes]]'' (2000)
*''Backroads'' (2000)
*''Christmas in the Clouds'' (2001)
*''[[MVP (TV series)|MVP]]'' - Mrs. Lemonde (2008)
* Provided the illustrations for ''Tales the Elders Told'' by [[Basil H. Johnston]]

==Awards==

*Best Short Film - ''Silent Tears''
*Telefilm Canada/Television Northern Canada Award for Best Canadian Aboriginal Language Television Program - ''Silent Tears'' (1998)
*Best Director. Reel World Film Festival (Toronto 2000)
*[[Indspire Awards|Lifetime Achievement Award]] in the area of art (2008). Given by the [[Indspire|National Aboriginal Achievement Foundation]], now Indspire.
*CTV Fellowship Award
*Eagle Spirit Award
*Independent Filmmaker of the Year (Arizona International Film Festival) (2002).
*Best Film for ''Johnny Tootall'' at the 2005 [[American Indian Film Festival]].<ref>{{Cite web|url = https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0154870/awards|title = Shirley Cheechoo - Awards|date = |accessdate = 2015-10-26|website = IMDb|publisher = |last = |first = }}</ref>

==See also==
*[[Medicine Woman (TV series)|Medicine Woman]] - Television show directed by Shirley Cheechoo.

==References==
<references />

==External links==
*[http://www.artworldofsherway.com/Featured%20Artists/Cheechoo/CheechooCollection.htm Shirley Cheechoo Art Collection]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20080513220331/http://nativepeoples.tribe.net/thread/d04672bd-9229-41a0-b6df-b092a1ad511c Recipient of National Aboriginal Achievement Awards]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20100925180600/http://www.wawataynews.ca/node/204 Film festival feature]
*{{YouTube|w0dXt_01x-U|Interview}}
*{{IMDb name|0154870}}

{{Brock University}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cheechoo, Shriley}}
[[Category:First Nations dramatists and playwrights]]
[[Category:Canadian women dramatists and playwrights]]
[[Category:Cree people]]
[[Category:1952 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:First Nations filmmakers]]
[[Category:Canadian women film directors]]
[[Category:Members of the Order of Canada]]
[[Category:People from Eeyou Istchee (territory)]]
[[Category:20th-century Canadian dramatists and playwrights]]
[[Category:21st-century Canadian dramatists and playwrights]]
[[Category:20th-century Canadian women writers]]
[[Category:21st-century Canadian women writers]]
[[Category:Chancellors of Brock University]]
[[Category:First Nations women writers]]
[[Category:Woodlands style]]
[[Category:Indspire Awards]]
[[Category:Canadian Film Centre alumni]]
[[Category:20th-century First Nations writers]]
[[Category:20th-century First Nations women]]
[[Category:21st-century First Nations writers]]
[[Category:Canadian artistic directors]]

Shirley Cheechoo - Revision history

imported>Smasongarrison: Copying from Category:20th-century First Nations writers to Category:20th-century First Nations women Diffusing per WP:DIFFUSE and/or WP:ALLINCLUDED using Cat-a-lot