Dawn Marie Marchand is Cree from Cold Lake First Nation and Métis. She has been in and around amazing artists, performers and writers for most of her life. A student of the Boreal Forest Institute for the Indigenous Arts in Fort McMurray, Alberta, she has a unique perspective on mastery based teaching. Here she studied with some of the best Contemporary Aboriginal Artists. Some of her mentor/teachers are: Alex Janvier, Garry Bertieg, Joane Cardinal-Schubert, Jane Ash Poitras, Eddie Poitras, Brian Clark and Rebecca Belmore. In October 2011, she was included in the Shifting Patterns exhibit at the McMullen Gallery as an emerging artist. In 2012, she and colleague Aaron Paquette held the Cree8 Success Conference in Edmonton, AB. In 2013 and 2014 she did community based installations in the Edmonton Folk Festival and the Works Big Tent. Her unique style honours the teachings and stories of her mentors and community while expresses her own vision.