TJ Cuthand, also credited as Theo Cuthand and Thirza Cuthand, is a filmmaker and performance artist, writer and curator of
Plains Cree as well as Scottish and Irish descent.
He is credited with coining the term ''Indigiqueer'', for modern Indigenous
LGBTQ
LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, Gay men, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning (sexuality and gender), questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, Asexuality, asexual, ...
people.
[Okanagan College Library Indigenous Studies - Two-Spirit and Indigiqueer]
. Accessed 23 May 2022[All My Relations Podcast - Indigiqueer]
. Accessed 23 May 2022 In May 2022, he changed his name to TJ Cuthand and came out as a
trans man.
His work as a video artist began in high school, as he experimented with a DIY and "diarist" aesthetic that he has continued to develop in subsequent works. His experimental film and videos often feature a personal perspective, voice-over narration, and storytelling that explores his experiences of identity, race, sexuality, relationships, ageism and mental health.
[Steven, Loft, Acquisition Proposal for Thirza Cuthand's ''Working Baby Dyke Theory: The Diasporic Impact of Cross Generational Barriers; Through hotel Looking Glass'' and ''Love & Numbers'', accession #42309; #42308 and #42307, Curatorial File, National Gallery of Canada.]
In 1995, when he was 16, he participated in a workshop at a queer film festival in
Saskatoon
Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Hig ...
,
which led to the production of his first short video, ''Lessons in Baby Dyke Theory,'' which was then screened at film festivals around the world. In bios at the time, Cuthand self-described as a "bipolar butch lesbian
two spirited boy/girl thingamabob".
Early life and career
Born in 1978 in
Regina,
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...
, Cuthand grew up amongst artists in
Saskatoon
Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Hig ...
.
Whitney Biennial
The Whitney Biennial is a biennial exhibition of contemporary American art organized by the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City. The event began as an annual exhibition in 1932; the first biennial was held in 1973. It is considered ...
, and the film program, ''What Was Always Yours and Never Lost'', yet shared his disappointment in the controversies of Whitney Museum vice-chair, Warren Kanders's implication in war profiteering.[ He has self-funded many of his own projects though he increasingly works with larger budgets.]LGBT
LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The gro ...
people, that is now in use in addition to, or as an alternative for, ''two-spirit
''Two-spirit'' (also known as ''two spirit'' or occasionally ''twospirited'', or abbreviated as ''2S'' or ''2E'', especially in Canada) is a umbrella term used by some Indigenous North Americans to describe Native people who fulfill a trad ...
'' - ''Indigiqueer''. Originally spelled ''Indigequeer'', Cuthand coined the term for the title of the 2004 Vancouver Queer Film Festival's Indigenous/two-spirit Program. He has written that he came up with ''Indigiqueer'' "because some LGBTQ Indigenous people don't feel as comfortable with the two-spirit title because it implies some dual gender stuff, which some people just don't feel describes their identity."
Awards
In 2017 Cuthand was awarded the Hnatyshyn Foundation's REVEAL Indigenous Art Award. In 2021 his short film ''Kwêskosîw (She Whistles)'' won a Golden Sheaf for Short Subject- Fiction at the Yorkton Film Festival
Yorkton Film Festival (YFF) is an annual film festival held in late May in Yorkton, Saskatchewan, Canada.
In 1947, the Yorkton Film Council (YFC) was founded and in 1950 the first international documentary film festival officially opened in we ...
, the Mana Advancement of Indigenous Rights Award at the Wairoa Maori Film Festival in New Zealand, and the Bronze Audience Award for Best Canadian Short at Fantasia.
References
External links
*
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cuthand, Thirza
Poitras–Cuthand family
Canadian people of Scottish descent
Canadian LGBTQ artists
First Nations filmmakers
Living people
LGBTQ First Nations people
Film directors from Saskatchewan
Artists from Regina, Saskatchewan
1978 births
Cree people
Canadian Métis people
Canadian video artists
Canadian performance artists
Canadian LGBTQ film directors
Canadian transgender artists
20th-century Canadian LGBTQ people
21st-century Canadian LGBTQ people