A podcast
that delves into the captivating lives and legacy of the Horn family, spotlighting their Kanien’keha:ka roots, activism, and contributions to activism, art and culture, as shared through Ma’s personal stories and insightful discussions.
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Kaniehtiio Horn
Meet Kaniehtiio (beautiful snow), or Tiio as she’s popularly known, a dynamic Mohawk actress born in the mid-80s to her awesome parents, Kahentinetha Horn, a Kanien’keha:ka woman from Kahnawake and a member of the Bear Clan and Robert F. Batt, Scottish and German (and some French and British and probably some other stuff) descent, born in Nova Scotia. Her mother had 3 Kanien’keha:ka daughters from a previous marriage, and her father also had 3 Ojibwe daughters; Kaniehtiio is the only child from their union. She grew up splitting her time between two loving households, one in the city and one on the rez. In 1990, she and her sister Waneek were with their mother at the siege of Kanehsatake; on the evening of September 26th, 1990, the people all walked out together and faced the Canadian Army, where her sister was bayoneted in the chest while protecting Kaniehtiio. This moment and the subsequent outcome have impacted Kaniehtiio in ways she is still figuring out to this day.
Kaniehtiio went to elementary school in Kahnawake and was named and raised at the 207 longhouse. She grew up hanging out in cars with her cousin while their moms went to political meetings, drawing protest signs, and hanging out under her mom’s chair while she was at court. She had the life of a child of a radical activist and all the good and bad that came with that.
Kaniehtiio attended the Dawson Theatre school in Montreal at the age of 16, and after three years of school, she got an agent, Alison Little, who she is still with to this day. She began working immediately and appeared in one of Jeff Barnaby’s earliest films, The Colony. In 2009, three films she had major roles in premiered at TIFF, The Trotsky, The Wild Hunt and Leslie, My Name Is Evil, leading to her signing with her US management, Alissa Goodman. She has been working consistently for almost 20 years. Some of her more notable roles to date are Deer Lady in Reservation Dogs, Tanis in Letterkenny, Dorothy in Supernatural, and Feather Day in Rutherford Falls. She gave birth to her first baby in 2020. In spring/summer 2023, she directed, produced, and starred in a feature film she wrote called Seeds. She is excited for people to see this crazy little film when it is ready. She still splits her time between Ottawa and Kahnawake.
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Kahentinetha Horn
Kaniehtiio's mother, Kahentinetha Horn, born on 16 April 1940 in New York City, has led an incredibly adventurous and diverse life. She is the second oldest of 9 children. Her father was an ironworker, and her mother a homemaker. As most families did back in the day, her home was in Kahnawake, and they would travel wherever her father Joe had work doing iron. After her father passed away on a job in the early 1950s, the oldest 4 siblings were forced to start working to make money for the family.
She witnessed the implication of the Saint Lawrence Seaway, which caused chaos in Kahnawake and displaced many community members, including both her maternal and paternal grandparents. This ignited something within her that would put her on the trajectory of dedicating her life to fighting the injustices Indigenous people face all across Turtle Island under colonial oppression.
Kahentinetha began modeling after winning The Snow Queen Pageant in Montreal in 1957. Under the careful guidance of Constance Brown, she learned to pose and work a showroom, which is how she continued to earn money through University at the end of the 1950s.
Using her platform as a model in the early 1960s, she began to raise awareness of issues such as Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG), over-incarceration of Indigenous people in Canada, and the free passage for Indigenous people through the Canadian/American border. After being featured in Look Magazine, the American Indian Movement invited her down to Minneapolis to discuss current issues Indigenous people were facing. She was involved in the civil rights movement of the late 1960s; by this time, the press turned on her once they realized she was not just a pretty face but also had a lot to say.
In the early 1970s, she decided to start having babies and get away from the radical activism to live a somewhat quiet life and dedicate her time to raising healthy, strong children. Her first daughter, Ojistoh, was born in February 1971; a daughter, Kahente, and a son, Iohseres, followed shortly after. Iohseres passed away in his crib in the winter of 1974. She then gave birth to another daughter, Waneek; all the while, she worked a civil servant job at Indian Affairs to pay the bills. After losing another baby at childbirth, she found herself pregnant once again, this time with her daughter Kaniehtiio. In 1990, she was fired from her civil servant job at Indian Affairs for being involved with and behind the lines at the siege in Kanehsatake. Once the siege was over, she moved the family back to Kahnawake, where she still resides in the house she had built in 1993, when she finally became a grandmother. She continues to stand firm in her beliefs and is still fighting for the respect her people deserve.
Kaniehtiio and Kahentinetha? They're not your regular coffee shop duo; they’re a tall order of fabulousness, proving that life is meant to be sipped slowly, savored, and shared with the ones you love.
So grab your favorite mug and join in – it's bound to be a steamy, heartwarming ride with these two! An introduction that is short, sweet, and to the point.
