Santee Smith

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]

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]

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]