Art is Medicine with Santee Smith

Keynote Presentation: "Moving in the Direction of Forever" with Santee Smith
Including a local artist panel featuring Leroy Jock Hill, Jesse Brant, Shayde Sandy and Scott PR Hill.

As part of our ongoing "Culture as Medicine" series, we are hosting Art is Medicine on February 21, 2025 at SNP to explore the profound role of art in Haudenosaunee culture—not only as a form of creative expression and education but also as a vital part of our healing and well-being.

Afternoon artist workshops: (All workshops are now full. You can still register for the Keynote speaker and panel)

• Embodiment and movement (workshop full)

• Painting (workshop full)

• Cornhusk mats! (workshop full)

Santee Smith
Santee Smith, Tekaronhiáhkhwa (Picking Up The Sky), is a renowned multidisciplinary artist from the Kahnyen’kehàka Nation at Ohswé:ken (Six Nations of the Grand River). A visionary in Indigenous performance, her transformative work masterfully bridges movement, storytelling, and design, forging deep mind-heart connections. Trained at Canada’s National Ballet School, with degrees in Physical Education, Psychology, and a master’s degree in dance, Santee blends ancient knowledge with new media to create impactful and diverse performances. As founder of the internationally celebrated Kaha:wi Dance Theatre, she has created and produced 16 full-scale productions, numerous short works, and film/TV projects. Santee’s work explores themes of identity, humanity and our responsibility to the natural world. Through her “Inviting the Land to Shape Us Series”, she advances land-based Indigenous performance research and fosters international collaborations and develops Indigenous dance artists. A Member of the Order of Canada and the 19th Chancellor of McMaster University, Santee continues to inspire as an artist, leader, and cultural visionary.