Duke Redbird (born 1939) is an Indigenous Canadian poet, journalist, activist, businessman, actor and administrator, best known as a key figure in the development of First Nations literature in Canada.
[1] An Ojibwe from the Saugeen First Nation in Southwestern Ontario,[2] he became a ward of the Children's Aid Society at nine months of age after his mother died in a house fire.
[5] In this era, he was also the neighbour of Joni Mitchell during her early career on Toronto's Yorkville coffeehouse scene,[4] and had his first acting role in an episode of Adventures in Rainbow Country.
"[3] "Silver River", a song Redbird recorded in 1975 in collaboration with musician Shingoose, appears on the 2014 compilation album Native North America, Vol.
[11] He took on multiple acting roles in this era, appearing in episodes of Wonderfalls and Relic Hunter, and in the films Elimination Dance, The Shaman's Source and Casino Jack.
In the 1990s he was co-owner of a downtown Toronto pub, the Coloured Stone,[11] and played a pivotal role in reuniting Mitchell with Kilauren Gibb, the daughter she had given up for adoption in the 1960s.
"[12] After leaving Citytv in 2009, Redbird joined OCAD University as a mentor and advisor in the institution's indigenous visual culture program until 2012.