Evan Adams
Encyclopedia
Evan Tlesla Àdams is a Canadian
actor, playwright and medical doctor. A Coast Salish
from the Sliammon First Nation
near Powell River
, British Columbia
, he is best known internationally for his roles in the films of Sherman Alexie
, as Thomas Builds-the-Fire in the 1998 film Smoke Signals
and Seymour Polatkin in the 2002 film The Business of Fancydancing.
He won an Independent Spirit Award in 1999 for Best Debut Performance for his role in Smoke Signals, and a Los Angeles Outfest
award in 2002 for his role in Fancydancing.
In Canada, Adams has acted primarily in television, including roles in The Beachcombers
, Da Vinci's Inquest
, Neon Rider
, These Arms of Mine, Da Vinci's City Hall
, The L Word
, and Wolf Canyon
, and stage roles in Lear
and Dry Lips Oughta Move to Kapuskasing
. He also appeared in the documentary film Just Watch Me: Trudeau and the 70's Generation
, speaking about his own experience as a young gay
First Nations man growing up in Canada during the Trudeau
era.
His plays, including Dreams of Sheep, Snapshots, Dirty Dog River and Janice's Christmas, have been produced across Canada and internationally.
Adams has also worked extensively with First Nations health programs in Canada, including HIV/AIDS education and alcohol and drug abuse treatment. In 2002, Adams completed a medical degree at the University of Calgary
. He now practices family medicine in Vancouver
, and serves as director of the Aboriginal Health program in the University of British Columbia
's faculty of medicine.
In April 2007, Adams was appointed the first-ever Aboriginal Health Physician Advisor for the province of British Columbia
.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
actor, playwright and medical doctor. A Coast Salish
Coast Salish
Coast Salish languages are a subgroup of the Salishan language family. These languages are spoken by First Nations or Native American peoples inhabiting the territory that is now the southwest coast of British Columbia around the Strait of Georgia and Washington state around Puget Sound...
from the Sliammon First Nation
Sliammon First Nation
The Sliammon First Nation or Tla A'min First Nation is a First Nations government located on the upper Sunshine Coast in southwestern British Columbia, Canada...
near Powell River
Powell River, British Columbia
Powell River is a city on the northern Sunshine Coast of southwestern British Columbia, Canada. Most of its population lives near the eastern shores of Malaspina Strait, that part of the larger Georgia Strait between Texada Island and the Mainland...
, British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, he is best known internationally for his roles in the films of Sherman Alexie
Sherman Alexie
Sherman Joseph Alexie, Jr. is a writer, poet, filmmaker, and occasional comedian. Much of his writing draws on his experiences as a Native American. Two of Alexie's best known works are The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven , a book of short stories and Smoke Signals, a film...
, as Thomas Builds-the-Fire in the 1998 film Smoke Signals
Smoke Signals (film)
Smoke Signals is an independent film directed and co-produced by Chris Eyre and with a screenplay by Sherman Alexie, based on the short story "This is what it means to say Phoenix, Arizona" from his book Lone Ranger and Tonto: Fistfight in Heaven. It won several awards and accolades, and was...
and Seymour Polatkin in the 2002 film The Business of Fancydancing.
He won an Independent Spirit Award in 1999 for Best Debut Performance for his role in Smoke Signals, and a Los Angeles Outfest
Outfest
Outfest is an LGBT-oriented film showcase and festival in Los Angeles, California. Founded in 1982 as the "Gay and Lesbian Media Festival and Conference", the name was changed to Outfest in 1994.-Programs:...
award in 2002 for his role in Fancydancing.
In Canada, Adams has acted primarily in television, including roles in The Beachcombers
The Beachcombers
The Beachcombers is a Canadian comedy-drama television series that ran from October 1, 1972 to December 12, 1990 and is the longest-running dramatic series ever made for English-language Canadian television...
, Da Vinci's Inquest
Da Vinci's Inquest
Da Vinci's Inquest is a Canadian dramatic television series that aired on CBC Television from 1998 to 2005. Seven seasons of thirteen episodes each were filmed for a total of ninety-one episodes....
, Neon Rider
Neon Rider
Neon Rider is a Canadian drama television series which first aired between 1990 and 1995. Created by Winston Rekert and Danny Virtue, the show was about the titular character, a man named Michael Terry who quits his job as a therapist to become a mentor for troubled kids which he brings to his...
, These Arms of Mine, Da Vinci's City Hall
Da Vinci's City Hall
Da Vinci's City Hall is a Canadian dramatic television series, which premiered on CBC Television on 25 October 2005. The series was a spinoff of the long-running Canadian series Da Vinci's Inquest...
, The L Word
The L Word
The L Word is an American co-production television drama series originally shown on Showtime portraying the lives of a group of lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people and their friends, family and lovers in the trendy Greater Los Angeles, California city of West Hollywood...
, and Wolf Canyon
Wolf Canyon
Wolf Canyon is a television pilot which was commissioned in 2009 for the Canadian national channel APTN. The pilot was aired several times over the 2009-2010 Holiday season and is titled "Hairy Lawman"....
, and stage roles in Lear
Lear (play)
Lear is a 1971 three-act play by the British dramatist Edward Bond. It is an epic rewrite of William Shakespeare's King Lear. The play was first produced at the Royal Court Theatre in 1971, featuring Harry Andrews in the title role...
and Dry Lips Oughta Move to Kapuskasing
Dry Lips Oughta Move to Kapuskasing
Dry Lips Oughta Move to Kapuskasing is a play by Tomson Highway, which premiered in 1989 at Theatre Passe-Muraille in Toronto.Set in the fictional Wasaychigan Hill reserve in Northern Ontario, Dry Lips is a companion piece to Highway's earlier play The Rez Sisters...
. He also appeared in the documentary film Just Watch Me: Trudeau and the 70's Generation
Just Watch Me: Trudeau and the 70's Generation
Just Watch Me: Trudeau and the '70s Generation is a Canadian documentary film by Catherine Annau, produced in 1999 by the National Film Board of Canada....
, speaking about his own experience as a young gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
First Nations man growing up in Canada during the Trudeau
Pierre Trudeau
Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau, , usually known as Pierre Trudeau or Pierre Elliott Trudeau, was the 15th Prime Minister of Canada from April 20, 1968 to June 4, 1979, and again from March 3, 1980 to June 30, 1984.Trudeau began his political career campaigning for socialist ideals,...
era.
His plays, including Dreams of Sheep, Snapshots, Dirty Dog River and Janice's Christmas, have been produced across Canada and internationally.
Adams has also worked extensively with First Nations health programs in Canada, including HIV/AIDS education and alcohol and drug abuse treatment. In 2002, Adams completed a medical degree at the University of Calgary
University of Calgary
The University of Calgary is a public research university located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Founded in 1966 the U of C is composed of 14 faculties and more than 85 research institutes and centres.More than 25,000 undergraduate and 5,500 graduate students are currently...
. He now practices family medicine in Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
, and serves as director of the Aboriginal Health program in the University of British Columbia
University of British Columbia
The University of British Columbia is a public research university. UBC’s two main campuses are situated in Vancouver and in Kelowna in the Okanagan Valley...
's faculty of medicine.
In April 2007, Adams was appointed the first-ever Aboriginal Health Physician Advisor for the province of British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
.