Chief Lady Bird (also known as Nancy King) is a Chippewa and

Potawatomi The Potawatomi , also spelled Pottawatomi and Pottawatomie (among many variations), are a Native American people of the western Great Lakes region, upper Mississippi River and Great Plains. They traditionally speak the Potawatomi language, a m ...

artist, illustrator, educator and community activist from

Rama First Nation Chippewas of Rama First Nation, also known as Chippewas of Mnjikaning and Chippewas of Rama Mnjikaning First Nation ( oj, Mnjikaning Anishinaabek, also alternatively Rama Anishinaabek), is an Anishinaabe ( Ojibway) First Nation located in the p ...

and Moosedeer Point First Nation, who currently resides in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most pop ...

, Ontario. Chief Lady Bird (Ogimaakwebnes) is her spirit name, which she uses professionally as an artist. Her art is focused on foregrounding the experiences of Indigenous women.

Career

Chief Lady Bird is known for her collaborative murals, digital illustrations, children's book illustrations, and contributions of Indigenous art to local spaces in Toronto. Her work can be found around Toronto including murals on Queen Street West,

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and D'Arcy Street, Ravina Gardens, Withrow Public School,

Ryerson University Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU or Toronto Met) is a public university, public research university located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The university's core campus is situated within the Garden District, Toronto, Garden District, although i ...

and

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under the

Don Valley Parkway The Don Valley Parkway (DVP) is a municipal expressway in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, which connects the Gardiner Expressway in downtown Toronto with Highway 401. North of Highway 401, it continues as Highway 404. The parkway r ...

. Chief Lady Bird created the Turtle Island

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for

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on National Indigenous Peoples Day. She is "part of an informal digital network of activists, organizing their social media communities around Indigenous issues". In 2019, Chief Lady Bird illustrated the children's book ''Nibi's Water Song'', written by Sunshine Tenasco and published by Scholastic Canada. This book features her dog Ludo as a character. A review of the book in ''

Quill & Quire ''Quill & Quire'' is a Canadian magazine about the book and publishing industry. The magazine was launched in 1935 and has an average circulation of 5,000 copies per issue, with a publisher-claimed readership of 25,000. ''Quill & Quire'' reviews ...

'' called Chief Lady Bird's work "colourful and expressive". Chief Lady Bird's work has been featured in '' Chirp Magazine''. Her work was also featured on the cover of the United Kingdom release for '' The Marrow Thieves'' by Cherie Dimaline. In addition to this, Chief Lady Bird's work has appeared in solo or group exhibitions at Twist Gallery, the Gladstone Hotel, Gallery of Northumberland, Arts Square, the Lieutenant Governor's Suite,

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, Super Wonder Gallery, the Carlu, Harbourfront Centre, Summer in the City Gallery and the Woodland Cultural Centre. Her mural ''The South , Zhaawanong'' was commissioned by the

Art Gallery of Ontario The Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO; french: Musée des beaux-arts de l'Ontario) is an art museum in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The museum is located in the Grange Park neighbourhood of downtown Toronto, on Dundas Street West between McCaul and Be ...

and installed in the gallery's Robert Harding Hall in June 2023.

Education

Chief Lady Bird holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from

OCAD University Ontario College of Art & Design University, commonly known as OCAD University or OCAD, is a public art university located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The university's main campus is spread throughout several buildings and facilities within do ...

, where she studied drawing and painting and minored in Indigenous Visual Culture. She notes that "my art practice was about bringing experience from my major into my minor and vice versa."

Awards and nominations

References

{{Authority control 1993 births Living people Artists from Ontario OCAD University alumni Ojibwe people Canadian muralists Canadian women muralists