Suitaakii Black (Facilitator)

Photo Credit: Alanna Bluebird

Suitaakii Black is a Nitsiitapi Artist and Filmmaker currently live in Fort Macleod in the southern part of Blackfoot Territory and Treaty 7 land. Before that, she took back space from many areas in Mohkintsis including museums, queer organizations, film shoots, libraries, LRT art exhibition spaces, coffee shops, school institutions, and out on the land, represented proudly. From 2016 to 2020 she ran the Treaty 7 Film Collective and tried to bring a stage for those who struggled to have a voice in the film industry in Alberta. She organized meet ups, curations, and produced a couple shorts. She attended the Adam Beach Film Institute in Treaty 1/Winnipeg, Manitoba, and made her first short film through the Herland Mentorship Program shortly after back in Calgary. She has also won a SAIYA for her work within the queer community and was gifted the Shine Award. She is currently working on her next short film, Counting Coup, which was granted funding through the Calgary Arts Development, and Produced by Kevin Dong. She is a Two Spirit, Nitsiitapi Femme, and matriarch in the making. Lastly, her kinships and connection to the land and its teachers are what fuels her work on a daily basis and acknowledges the opportunities she’s received is because of the love and support of her community.