Dakota Brant

Who is Dakota Brant?

Dakota Brant was born August 11, 1987 at Six Nations of the Grand River Territory. Her citizenship belongs with the Mohawk Nation, Turtle Clan.

In 2005 she served as Miss Six Nations and travelled to Belgium and France with her Excellency Michaëlle Jean, Governor General of Canada and the Canadian Minister of Veteran Affairs and a large Aboriginal delegation for the Aboriginal Spiritual Journey. The ASJ marked the historic return of World War I and WII Aboriginal veterans to the battlefields of Europe, marking Canada's 2005 Year of the Veteran. At 18 years old Brant was named one of five Canadian national winners of the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce World Markets Miracle Makers for excellence in volunteerism and contribution to community life.

In 2008 the Women in Leadership Foundation recognized Brant as a Youth Aboriginal Woman in Leadership, one of just four to be recognized across Canada.

Since 2008, Brant has been a columnist for the Turtle Island News. "Turtle Talk" is a bi-weekly column discussing both political and traditional issues and histories surrounding Indigenous and Haudenosaunee communities.

In 2010, she was crowned Miss Indian World. She also organised the First Nations Festival at Trent University, where she reads indigenous environmental studies. She was awarded a Special Youth Award at the 2011 National Aboriginal Achievement Awards.