Indigenous people are a necessary enzyme for a healthy civilization: Tantoo Cardinal is a living legend – Toronto Life

January 30, 2026

The actor, who stars in Soulpepper’s Witch, talks art as activism and her five-decade career

There are few Canadian actors as accomplished as Tantoo Cardinal. Hailing from the small town of Anzac, Alberta, and of Cree and Métis heritage, Cardinal has appeared in over 120 film, TV and theatre roles, including Dances With Wolves alongside Kevin Costner and Killers of the Flower Moon with Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro—roles that not only showed off her considerable strengths as an actor but raised the profile of Indigenous peoples across the broader culture. This week, theatregoers will have a rare chance to watch her perform live as the lead in Witch, a Soulpepper revamp of the 1600s English play The Witch of Edmonton, in which an ostracized woman, Elizabeth, watches as the devil corrupts the town around her. We caught up with Cardinal to talk about her return to the stage, Indigenous representation in film and media, and her dreams for the future.

Read More: https://torontolife.com/culture/tantoo-cardinal-interview/