Dawn Marie Marchand is a member of Cold Lake First Nation in Treaty Six territory.
cîpêhcakwawêw-iskwêw (Blue Horse Spirit Woman) is a Cree and Metis artist, educator, advocate, author, writer, speaker, and mother. Her many noted accomplishments include:
Circle of Courage Coordinator for the Alberta Indigenous Games in 2011, Co-founder and lead organizer of Cree8 Success Conference in 2012, art installations for the Edmonton Folk Festival in 2013 called “Monto”; Edmonton City Hall in 2014 during the Truth and Reconciliation Gathering “A Place to Hang your Stories”; co-producing the Walrus Talks-Aboriginal City art components in 2015, “Edmonton Treaty 6 Soccer ball”; and Redx Talk “Art is the Medicine” in 2016. Received an Aboriginal Role Model Award for Art in 2017, during her term as the First Indigenous Artist In Residence for the City of Edmonton. Facilitation of the Indigenous Artist Market Collective engagement and launch in 2018. An installation called “The Longest Journey” as part of the Nuit Blanche Festival in 2018.
In mid-2019, she relocated to Smoky Lake, AB. Spending many years building her art practice in Edmonton; Dawn Marie spent years working to remove poverty and cultural barriers for Indigenous Artists. She has expanded her own art practice in 2021 with projects in Quebec where she collaborated with land-based artist Shannon Chief for artwork for Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women. Images of her artwork were animated and projected during the Lights Bright Indigenous Showcase at Expo Dubai (November 2021 and during the Flying Canoe Festival in the Edmonton River Valley in 2022).
She worked with corporations on developing a visual language to express Treaty acknowledgements in their various locations around Alberta. She has created many visual essays to help document syllabi or record conference information (Education Policy Study, Writing Stick Conference – University of Alberta). She recently had one installed in Edmonton City Hall about the Engagement Process undertaken by the Indigenous Relations Office in the development of their Indigenous Strategy. She has completed a commission with the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Center to gift to Australian Firefighters, Mexican Firefighters and South African Firefighters. She created permanent public artwork for the Stanley Milnar Public Library in Downtown Edmonton. Installed artwork in the Banff Art in Nature Walk and had artwork projected as part of the 2023 Juno Awards Celebrations in Edmonton.
She worked with the Metis Nation of Alberta to build support for Metis Artists 2022-2024. She is designer in residence with Punctuate Theatre. She is art consultant and art design for the set of First Metis Man of Odesa which won 3 Dora Awards including Outstanding Production. She continues to work with Punctuate Theatre as a set designer. She currently is designing sets for Takwahiminana by Matthew McKenzie and is a consulting artist for the set design for a TBA collaboration with KIMVN Teatro, Santiago, Chile.
