Bell is a decorated Canadian and an internationally recognized leader and activist in the arts, philanthropy and First Nations resource development.
In 2005, he served as one of five Canadian advisors to Prince Charles and received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Royal Conservatory of Music in 2007.
He is the eldest child of Don Eagle and Beth Hamilton, the former a Mohawk wrestler from Canada deemed "the most famous Indian in the world."
Beth Hamilton Bell moved to the Kahnawake Mohawk Reserve to be with Eagle during an era when inter-racial marriage was illegal.
By the age of 18 Bell was conducting numerous Broadway, ballet and operatic productions, which included headliners Gene Kelly and Lauren Bacall.
[1] After studying in Italy, Bell went to New York and conducted for the Harlem Dance Theatre, Eglevsky Ballet, and many Broadway shows and operatic productions.
[2] His first concert fundraiser took place in 1987 and included the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Don Ross, the then-unknown Shania Twain, and Bernadette Peters.
[3] John Kim Bell produced, directed, co-composed, and conducted[4] In the Land of the Spirits, the first all-Indigenous ballet to tour nationally.
[4] Bell composed music for Divided Loyalties, The Trial of Standing Bear, No Turning Back, and Time Immemorial, as well as for many of the National Aboriginal Achievement Awards shows that he executive produced and directed.
He has also sat on the boards of the Canadian Institute for Health Research, the Federal Task Force on Professional Training in the Cultural Sector, and the City of Toronto's 2008 Olympic bid.