Tina Keeper

A member of the Norway House Cree Nation in northern Manitoba, she was born in Winnipeg.[3] She is the granddaughter of Olympic long distance runner Joe Keeper and the daughter of Joseph I. Keeper, a member of the Order of Canada, and Phyllis Keeper (née Beardy), an Anglican priest.[1]

Keeper studied history and theatre at the University of Winnipeg.[2] Originally planning to become a history professor, she instead became an actor after getting involved in an indigenous theatre company in Winnipeg.[2]

Keeper had a number of supporting roles in film,[1] most notably in the National Film Board of Canada docudrama short For Angela,[2] before being cast in North of 60 in 1992.[4] She was a five-time Gemini Award nominee for Best Actress in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role for her work on the series, winning the award at the 11th Gemini Awards in 1997.[5] At the 9th Gemini Awards in 1995, she also received a Gemini nomination for Performance in a Children's or Youth Program or Series, for her performance in For Angela.[6]

Following the end of North of 60 as a regular series, Keeper continued her role as Michelle Kenidi in several North of 60 television films,[7] and appeared in the films Heater, Skins and On the Corner, until she decided to seek the Liberal nomination in Churchill in 2005.[8]

After her election defeat in 2008, she took on both acting and production roles in the APTN drama series Cashing In.[9] More recently she has acted in the television series Mohawk Girls and Heartland, and the films Through Black Spruce and Falls Around Her.

A partner in the film production firm Kistikan Pictures,[3] she was a producer of Through Black Spruce,[10] as well as the films Road of Iniquity, Sky Stories and REDress Redress Project. In 2014 she participated in the creation of Going Home Star, a Royal Winnipeg Ballet production on the theme of indigenous reconciliation.[11]

Keeper was elected as a Member of Parliament in the 2006 Canadian federal election, representing the Liberal Party in Churchill.[12] She served as the Official Opposition's Critic for Public Health and Canadian Heritage, and as a Special Advisor for Aboriginal Outreach in the 39th Parliament of Canada.[3]

She was defeated in the 2008 Canadian federal election by Niki Ashton of the New Democratic Party,[13] and has not returned to electoral politics since.

She continues to work as a political activist. She currently serves as chair of the board of trustees for the Helen Betty Osborne Memorial Foundation, as a member of the advisory committees of the Urban Shaman Gallery, Red Cross Manitoba and Canadians for a New Partnership, and an honorary witness for the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.[3]

In addition to her Gemini Award nominations and win, she is the recipient of a National Aboriginal Achievement Award,[14] three American Indian Film Festival awards for acting and producing, and a 2014 Canadian Civil Liberties Association award for Public Engagement.[15] She was named ACTRA's Woman of the Year in 2017.[3] In June 2017, Keeper received both an honorary doctor of letters from Wilfrid Laurier University,[3] and a Governor General's Meritorious Service Medal for the ballet Going Home Star.[16]

She was named to the Order of Manitoba in 2002.[1]

In December 2019, the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television announced Keeper as the recipient of its Earle Grey Award at the 8th Canadian Screen Awards.[17]

• Official website
• Tina Keeper – Parliament of Canada biography
• Tina Keeper at IMDb