Indigenous actor and filmmaker Georgina Lightning dies at 63
Indigenous filmmaker and actor Georgina Lightning has died at 63 after being struck by a horse during a documentary shoot at an equestrian event in Alberta. Lightning was a trailblazer for Indigenous representation in film and a vocal advocate for residential school survivors.
Why it matters
Her death is a significant loss to the Indigenous arts community and the broader Canadian film industry.
Georgina Lightning. Jodi Calahoo Stonehouse/Supplied
Georgina Lightning, the Cree actor, director and screenwriter who broke barriers for Indigenous women in the film industry, died Saturday after an incident at an Indigenous equestrian championship west of Edmonton. She was 63.
Ms. Lightning was shooting a documentary about the three-day Indian Relay event at the Enoch Rodeo Grounds when the incident occurred, according to friends and family.
Police responded at 6:40 p.m. after a horse veered off track and struck a woman standing in a designated media area, said Alberta RCMP public information officer Corporal Mathew Howell. Emergency medical services attended and declared the woman deceased on the scene, Cpl. Howell said. Occupational Health and Safety, Alberta’s workplace-safety regulator, will be taking over the investigation.
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