Indigenous Artist

Kwe'! Teluisi Neylan Stevens aqq teleyawi Essisoqnik First Nation. Hi! My name is Neylan Stevens, and I am from Eskasoni First Nation. I graduated in 2024 from Cape Breton University with a Bachelor of Arts in Community Studies (BACs) degree, majoring in Psychology. Currently, I am a second-year law student at the Schulich School of Law, Dalhousie University. I began dancing at the age of two and grew up competing in various styles, including ballet, pointe, lyrical, contemporary, jazz, hip-hop, musical theatre, modern, and tap. I have been dancing since I was two years old. In 2019, I landed the lead role as “Clara” in Savoy Theatre’s production of “The Nutcracker" (2019), and had previous roles years before, such as Flower, Snowflake and Rat. In 2021, I was fortunate enough to be part of a multidisciplinary show created by Sarah Prosper called "Samqwan," which translates to “Water” in Mi'kmaq, and I was a core dancer in the cast. We performed in over 25 shows around the Maritimes, including the Highland Arts Theatre (Sydney, NS), Neptune Theatre (Halifax, NS) and the Confederation Centre of the Arts (Prince Edward Island) for the 2023 Canada Winter Games. I am so excited to join the IPAA Youth Ambassador Program as a mentor and represent Mi’kma’ki!

INDIGENOUS ANCESTRY

First Nations

SELF-IDENTIFICATION

Mi'kmaq