Kiawentiio

Indigenous actress, singer and artist Kiawenti:io Tarbell was born on April 28, 2006 to a Mohawk family in Akwesasne, Ontario, Canada and is a member of the Mohawk Nation of Akwesasne. The First Nation actress is widely known only by her mononymous first name, Kiawentiio, which translates to "Nice Morning" and is pronounced "Gya-wuhn-dee-yo." As a young girl, she grew up on Cornwall Island, part of the Akwesasne Reservation, in the middle of the St. Lawrence River, right on the US border. She received her education at the Akwesasne Freedom School and at the Cornwall Collegiate and Vocational School, one of the oldest schools in Canada. For the third season of the renowned Canadian TV series "Anne with an E", which was first broadcast by the CBC in 2019, a public casting call was launched looking for a young indigenous actress for the important recurring role of a Mi'kmaq girl. She was able to prevail against 235 competitors and achieved her first notable acting success with the role of Ka'kwet, which remained in the audience's memory. She then had her critically acclaimed acting breakthrough in 2020 with the lead role in the film drama "Beans" by Mohawk director Tracey Deer, in which she plays the role of 12-year-old Tekahentahkhwa (called Beans), who experienced the Oka crisis in Kanesatake in the year 1990, a 78-day violent confrontation between the Canadian indigenous people and the Canadian authorities with road blockages and fatalities. The film won Best Canadian Film at the Canadian Screen Awards and Kiawentiio won the Vancouver Film Critics Circle One to Watch award for her breakthrough performance.