Tantoo Cardinal (born July 20, 1950) is a Canadian actress of Cree and Métis heritage. In 2009 she was made a member of the Order of Canada "for her contributions to the growth and development of Aboriginal performing arts in Canada, as a screen and stage actress, and as a founding member of the Saskatchewan Native Theatre Company."
Early life Tantoo Cardinal was born the youngest of three children to Julia Cardinal, a woman of Cree and Métis descent, and a white father.
Cardinal was raised in the hamlet of Anzac, Alberta. The lack of electricity inspired her to use her imagination while playing in the bush. Her grandmother nicknamed her "Tantoo" after the insect repellent they used while picking blueberries together. She taught Cardinal the Cree language, the traditional ways of their culture and the difficulties she would face growing up Métis in Canada. Cardinal has said that it was walking behind her grandmother where she first learned to act.
Career
Cardinal has played roles in many notable films and television series, including Spirit Bay, Loyalties, Dances with Wolves, Black Robe, Legends of the Fall, Smoke Signals, Hold the Dark, Where The Rivers Flow North opposite Rip Torn, and North of 60. She was cast in the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation mini-series By Way of the Stars with Gordon Tootoosis as the Cree Chief and Eric Schweig as Black Thunder.
In 2009, she was made a member of the Order of Canada "for her contributions to the growth and development of Aboriginal performing arts in Canada, as a screen and stage actress, and as a founding member of the Saskatchewan Native Theatre Company".
On August 23, 2011, Cardinal, Margot Kidder, and dozens of others were arrested while protesting the proposed extension of the Keystone Pipeline.
In 2012, Cardinal portrayed Regan in an all-aboriginal production of William Shakespeare's King Lear at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa. The production was helmed by Order of Canada member Peter Hinton-Davis and included August Schellenberg as Lear, Billy Merasty as Gloucester, Jani Lauzon in a dual role as Cordelia and the Fool, and Craig Lauzon as Kent.
She played Marilyn Yarlott for three seasons as a recurring cast member in the Netflix series Longmire, a Crow hunter and medicine woman who lives alone in the vast wilderness of the Crow reservation.
In 2017 she was named the winner of the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television's Earle Grey Award for lifetime achievement."Tantoo Cardinal among those getting special Canadian Screen Awards" . The Guardian, January 12, 2016. She has also won a Gemini Award, a National Aboriginal Achievement Award (now Indspire Award) and was inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame.
In the 2018 film The Grizzlies, she plays a high school principal who is skeptical that a first-time teacher can address social issues in the northwestern Nunavut community of Kugluktuk.
On November 26, 2021, Cardinal and several other laureates received the Governor General's Performing Arts Awards after a nearly two-year delay due to the COVID-19 pandemic."Tantoo Cardinal, Ryan Reynolds, Catherine O'Hara receive their Governor General's awards". CBC News. November 27, 2021. Archived from the original on November 28, 2021. Her portrait, taken by mixed-media artist HAUI, is displayed at Rideau Hall.
In 2023, Cardinal was inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame."Tantoo Cardinal". Canada's Walk of Fame. Retrieved September 4, 2025.
Personal life Cardinal met her first husband, Fred Martin, while boarding at his family's home during her high school years in Edmonton. They were married from 1968 to 1978 and had a son, prior to their divorce.
She had her second son, Clifford, with Beaver Richards.
From 1988 to 2000, Cardinal was married to actor John Lawlor, with whom she had a daughter.
Filmography +Key Denotes works that have not yet been released
Film Year Title Role Notes1978Marie-AnneTantou1981Death HuntIndian Woman1983Running BraveCaroline1986Places Not Our OwnRoseLoyaltiesRosanne LadouceurNominated - Genie Award for Best Actress1987Candy MountainAnnie1988War PartySonny's mother1990Divided LoyaltiesMolly BrantDances With WolvesBlack Shawl1991Black RobeChomina's Wife1993Silent TongueSilent TongueWhere the Rivers Flow NorthBangorMustard BathSister Amantha1994Sioux CityDawn RainfeatherLegends of the FallPet Decker1997GranmaSilenceDolores1998Honey MoccasinHoney MoccasinSmoke SignalsArlene JosephHeartwoodViolet Boucher1999Singing BirdHeaven Fontaine2000Postmark ParadiseReenieBlood RiverClaire / MattieShort2002Edge of MadnessRuth2004MemoryIdaShort2006Unnatural & AccidentalAunt Shadie / Rita2008Older than AmericaAuntie AppleAncestor EyesVernaShortMothers & DaughtersCeline2010Every Emotion CostsAunt Marcy2011Shouting SecretsJune2012EdenThe Nurse2013From AboveOlder VenusMaïnaTekahera2014Down HereStella Mitchell2015Hope BridgeLana2016ARQThe Pope2017Wind RiverAlice Crowheart2018Falls Around HerMary Birchbark The GrizzliesJaniceThrough Black SpruceMary-LouHold the Dark IllanaqAngelique's IsleThunderbird Woman2019Red SnowRuth2020 The Corruption of Divine ProvidenceJuniper Fairweather2022 Wendell & Wild Miss Hunter (voice) The Last Manhunt Ticup 2023 Killers of the Flower Moon Lizzie Q Nominated – Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture 2024 Inkwo for When the Starving Return Auntie 2026 Wildwood Iphigenia (voice) In production
Television Year Title Role Notes1981SCTVextraEpisode 4/2-2 "Power Play"1984Spirit BayAnnieMain role1987Gunsmoke: Return to DodgeLittle DoeTelevision film1990Maria BrantEpisode: "Miles to Go"1991Lightning FieldVivianTelevision film1992Street LegalRenee StonehouseRecurring role; 4 episodes1992–93By Way of the StarsFranoisTelevision mini-series1993Harts of the WestHelenEpisode: "Auggie's End"Spirit RiderMarilyn St. ClaireTelevision film1993–95Dr. Quinn, Medicine WomanSnow BirdRecurring role; 7 episodes1994–97North of 60Betty MosesRecurring role; 7 episodes1995500 Nations(voice)Television mini-seriesTecumseh: The Last WarriorTurtle MotherTelevision film1996Grand AvenueNellieTelevision film1998Big BearRunning SecondTelevision mini-seriesCold SquadTheresa SandimanEpisode: "Salty Cheever"2000Navigating the HeartMaryTelevision filmAunt MaryTelevision film2001MythQuestWallohaEpisode: "Red Wolf's Daughter"2002Tom StoneJudge CrowfootEpisode: "Royalty"2003–06Moccasin FlatsBetty MerastyRecurring role; 22 episodes2004Windy AcresAunt LauraRecurring role; 7 episodesH2OGrand Chief Katie BlackfireGuest role; 2 episodesIrene MusketTelevision film2006Indian Summer: The Oka CrisisIba Beauvais4 episodes2007Luna: Spirit of the WhaleGloria MaquinnaTelevision film2008Ursularecurring role; 4 episodesJust BreatheHeatherTelevision filmChanging Climates, Changing TimesGrace LajoieTelevision film2009Tales of an Urban IndianDianneTelevision filmDear PrudenceRuth VigilTelevision film2010ShatteredCarolGuest role; 2 episodes2012 The KillingProstituteEpisode: "Keylela"2012–15BlackstoneWilma StoneyRecurring role; 18 episodes2013Arctic AirAunt MaryEpisode: "Skeletons in the Closet"2014Strange EmpirePichetteEpisode: "Lonely Hearts"2014–16Mohawk GirlsZoe's MomRecurring role; 5 episodes2015–17LongmireMarilyn YarlottGuest role; 4 episodes2016FrontierKamennaGuest role; 2 episodesOn the FarmAda TaylorTelevision film2017 The Great Northern Candy DropLouisa (voice)Television film A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.GodlessIyoviMiniseries; 7 episodes2018OutlanderAdawehiGuest role; 2 episodes2019SeeThe DreamerGuest role; 4 episodes2019–20StumptownSue Lynn BlackbirdSeries regular2020New AmsterdamDr. Jane MunseeEpisode: "Radical"2021Corner Gas AnimatedJulie Rouleau (voice)Episode: "A Lot to be Desired"2022–presentSpirit RangersMoon (voice)Recurring role2022Three PinesBea MayerSeries regular2024EchoChulaSeries regularTBAAvatar: The Last AirbenderHamaUpcoming role
Audiobooks Year Title Role Notes2000Island of the Blue DolphinsNarrator2019 The Testaments2019Islands of Decolonial Love: Stories and Songs by Leanne Betasamosake SimpsonNarrator
Music videos Year Title Role Notes2019"Mehcinut" by Jeremy Dutcher
See also Notable Aboriginal people of Canada
References
External links
Canadian Film Encyclopedia [A publication of the Film Reference Library/a division of the Toronto International Film Festival Group]