Michelle St. John

Michelle St. John is an actress, singer, producer and director who has been involved in creative projects in theatre, film, television and music since the 1980s. Her directorial debut, Colonization Road, is a 2016 feature-length documentary that premiered at imagineNATIVE Film and Media Arts Festival.

Career
St. John was born Michelle L. Richardson, the daughter of musician Wayne St. John ( Wayne Alan Richardson) and a Jewish mother.

Michelle began her career in film as an actress. One of her first roles was as the protagonist in the 1989 CBC film Where the Spirit Lives, for which she won a Gemini Award for Best Actress - Dramatic Program.

She has worked on many television series, including Northern Exposure and By Way of the Stars and she voiced the character of Nakoma in Disney's 1995 animated film Pocahontas.

In 1998, she had a cameo as Velma in Chris Eyre's award-winning Smoke Signals. She co-founded Turtle Gals Performance Ensemble in 1999 with Jani Lauzon and Monique Mojica.

St. John has produced several short films and theatre productions with Marie Clements. She has collaborated with Shane Belcourt as co-producer on two Heritage Minutes, Chanie Wenjack and Naskumituwin (Treaty) and the independent feature film Red Rover.

In 2016, She came across the inspiration for Colonization Road, which she wrote, produced, and directed, while touring with Turtle Gals in Fort Frances, Ontario.

The World Premiere of Colonization Road was on October 23, 2016, at imagineNATIVE Film and Media Arts Festival, and it was nominated for a 2017 Canadian Screen Award in Donald Brittain Social Political Documentary category. It also received a Golden Sheaf Awards for Best History Documentary.

Awards

 * 1990 - Gemini Award: Best Actress - Dramatic Program (Where the Spirit Lives)
 * 1992 - Gemini Award: Best Guest Performance in a Series by an Actor or Actress (E.N.G. Season 2, Episode 11)
 * 2003 - FAITA Award: Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Film (The Business of Fancydancing)
 * 2011 - American Indian Movie Award: Best Actress (Every Emotion Costs)