Tantoo Cardinal – Stumptown

By starrymag | October 30, 2019

By: Paige Zinaman

 

 

 

Q) What are some of the projects you have coming up?

 

A) I was part of a series called “See” that stars Jason Mamoa that’s done by Apple. I don’t know when it’s airing, but it’s about ready to drop. And I’m in a movie called Red Snow that was written and directed by Marie Clements. It will be screening at the San Francisco American Indian Film Festival. I was just a just a part of a movie that Jason Mamoa is producing called The Last Man Hunt. They’re still shooting so it will be a while before that one comes out. And I have four more episodes of “Stumptown.”

 

Q) Please tell us the premise for “Stumptown” and about your character.

 

A) It is based on a graphic novel called “Stumptown” written by Greg Rucka. The main character Dex Parios (Cobie Smulders) who is an Army Veteran from the Afghanistan War with PTSD comes back to her home community in which I am the CEO of the casino. I’ve known her since she was very young and she was in love with my son and I wouldn’t allow them to be married.

 

Q) What made you want to be a part of the show?

 

A) It is a very rare opportunity for an Indigenous woman to be a regular on a network show and the tenancy has been to just guest star on a series like this would be a big catch for an Indigenous woman. To be cast as a regular was stunning to me. It shows a real shift a change to be embraced and brought in as a part of the core team. The series is just very exciting.

 

Q) What have been some of your favorite moments working on “Stumptown” this far?

 

A) It’s still fresh and it’s still new – the very idea of doing it and working with such a great bunch of people. It’s really an honor and exciting. All these actors are so skilled and good people.

 

Q) Is there an episode(s) that stands out to you that you can’t wait for fans to see?

 

A) No, no it’s all very exciting. I can’t this one or the other for me it’s interesting to see how people are going to be taking it. There’s so much misunderstanding of who we are as Indigenous people in this country. So, all of it is kind of an opportunity to see how people are thinking and it’s really going to depend on the people and their reactions to it if my character continues or not and if they’re interested in the stories we have to tell. It’s fascinating to me to see people’s reactions.

 

Q) You’ve mentioned working with actors such as Cobie Smulders and Jake Johnson. What is something you’ve taken away from working with them?

 

A) Kindness. A sense of professionalism and a dignity for our work.

 

Q) What do you think it is about this show that will make it a fast fan favorite?

 

A) I think diversity is a part of it. I think there’s a great span of people who can see themselves or an element of themselves or their community with the diversity of the show. It’s like the people that you see in the malls or in the streets. I think it’s a good thing for people to see television that kind of reflects our society.

 

Q) Being a part of social media, are you excited to see all of the feedback from fans?

 

A) Yeah, because it gives me an opportunity to see what they’re saying and people from my world being excited about it and we’ll see how it goes.

 

Q) Growing up who inspired you the most to pursue acting?

 

A) I was raised by my grandmother. It’s the people that I grew up with, particularly the older people who were storytellers who would come by to visit. The community I grew up in was heart shattering to have been in this beautiful community that was considered isolated. And to know the power, strength and humility of the people, I grew up with a sense of humor and intelligence and the common philosophy of life and how people rolled with the punches of racism and colonialism.

 

Q) You have been honored by the Native Artistic community many times for your work. Does that guide you in which roles and projects you choose?

 

A) What I just told you is what guides me. Those come as a result of the path that I’m on. The arts are incredibly important. We are a culture with stories at our core and songs and dances at our core. And so, I’m greatly honored by those recognitions. What they end up doing is encouraging me to keep on my path to continue. It’s not an easy path. If you have struggling artists in your community give them a nudge, give them a break. Go look at their stuff and stream their little films and support them. We ultimately do this because we don’t have a choice. This is what drives us and what’s needed in our societies.

 

Q) You have been a part of a number of incredible film and television projects from Dances with Wolves to “Strange Empire” and even “Outlander.” What have been some of your personal favorite projects to have worked on?

 

A) I don’t like pointing out one or the other, but I will say Where the Rivers Flow North is one of my personal favorites. It was a little independent film out of Vermont. I did a movie called Loyalties many years that was in a small community in Alberta. It was about molestation and pedophilia. It was well done and a powerful little film. I just did a film called Falls Around Her. It was my first opportunity to play a lead in a feature. It’s an independent film that was written, created and produced by an Anishnawbek woman named Darlene Naponse out of Ontario. It was my first time playing a lead that propelled the story. It’ll be fifty years next year that I’ve been doing this. So, to say what I like it will take a book.

 

Q) What would you like to say to your fans and supporters?

 

A) Keep on watching, keep on supporting your artists and if you’re a storyteller and you’re burning to tell your story do it in whatever form is available to you. Find the ones who have the same kind of passion and pursue your creative impulses. Pursue your arts the best way you can. There’s a lot of exciting things going on so just hang on.