Joe Buffalo (born 1976) is a

Cree The Cree, or nehinaw (, ), are a Indigenous peoples of the Americas, North American Indigenous people, numbering more than 350,000 in Canada, where they form one of the country's largest First Nations in Canada, First Nations. They live prim ...

skateboarder and actor from

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

.Lisa Mayerhöfer
"Joe Buffalo: Colonialism Skateboards, remodelling, and strength in communal storycrafting"
''

Discorder CiTR-FM (101.9 MHz) is a non-commercial FM radio station in Vancouver, British Columbia. It is owned by the Student Radio Society of the University of British Columbia, with studios in the Alma Mater Society Student Nest in the Point Grey c ...

'', April 24, 2020. He is most noted as a two-time

Vancouver Film Critics Circle The Vancouver Film Critics Circle (VFCC) was founded in 2000 by David Spaner and Ian Caddell, in order to help promote Canadian films and the British Columbia film and television industry. Its membership includes print, radio, on-line, and telev ...

nominee for Best Supporting Actor in a Canadian Film, receiving nominations at the Vancouver Film Critics Circle Awards 2016 for '' Hello Destroyer'' and at the Vancouver Film Critics Circle Awards 2017 for '' Luk'Luk'I''."2018 Nominees Announced"
Vancouver Film Critics Circle, December 15, 2017. He is a 2023 recipient of the Inspire Award in the sports category.

Biography

A member of the

Samson Cree Nation The Samson Cree Nation, () also known as the Samson First Nation, is one of four band governments in the area of Maskwacis, Alberta, Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces ...

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

, he is the great-grandson of Joe Buffalo, a former deputy chief who had an acting role in the 1958 film ''

The Sheriff of Fractured Jaw ''The Sheriff of Fractured Jaw'' is a 1958 Western comedy film directed by Raoul Walsh, starring Kenneth More and Jayne Mansfield. Mansfield's singing voice is dubbed by Connie Francis. It was one of the first Westerns to be shot in Spain. Plot ...

'', and the great-grand nephew of actor

Gordon Tootoosis Gordon Tootoosis, (October 25, 1941 – July 5, 2011) was a First Nations actor of Cree and Stoney descent. Tootoosis was a descendant of Yellow Mud Blanket, brother of the famous Cree leader Poundmaker. He was acclaimed for his commitment t ...

. A survivor of the

Indian residential school system The Canadian Indian residential school system was a network of boarding schools for Indigenous peoples. The network was funded by the Canadian government's Department of Indian Affairs and administered by various Christian churches. The scho ...

, he moved to

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

after school to begin his skateboarding career, although he struggled with

substance abuse Substance misuse, also known as drug misuse or, in older vernacular, substance abuse, is the use of a drug in amounts or by methods that are harmful to the individual or others. It is a form of substance-related disorder, differing definition ...

issues in his early years. Since getting sober, he has also served as an advocate and speaker on indigenous mental health. He received the Inspire Award, in the sports category in 2023. He is associated with the indigenous-owned skateboard company Colonialism Skateboards, which released a professional model in 2021 that features Buffalo's student identification card from the Qu'Appelle Indian Residential School printed on the top. As an actor, he has also had supporting roles in the films '' The Fish and the Sea'', ''Cake Day'' and '' Brother, I Cry''. He is the subject of Amar Chebib's 2021 short documentary film ''Joe Buffalo''.Pat Mullen
"Now Streaming: Joe Buffalo Shares a Survivor’s Story"
''

Point of View Point of View or Points of View may refer to: Concept and technique * Point of view (literature) or narrative mode, the perspective of the narrative voice; the pronoun used in narration * Point of view (philosophy), an attitude how one sees or ...

'', October 8, 2021.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Buffalo, Joe 1976 births Living people 21st-century Canadian male actors Canadian male film actors Canadian skateboarders Cree male actors First Nations sportspeople Male actors from Alberta Sportspeople from Alberta Samson Cree Nation people