Billy Merasty

Billy Merasty is an actor playwright Cree translator and language keeper He was born to Viola and Pierre Merasty in 1960 in Brochet Manitoba His grandfather was Joe Highway a famous caribou hunter and champion dogsled racer He moved to Toronto at age eighteen in search for his uncle René Highway who was at the time working for the Toronto Dance Theatre At age twentythree Billy launched his acting career after graduating from the Native Theatre School for aspiring Indigenous artists He then went on to work for the renowned Indigenous performing arts company Native Earth Performing Arts Billy has worked as a film television and stage actor for decades and notably played the first Indigenous gay character on television on the CBC series Liberty Street in the role of Nathan Billy received the Order of Manitoba Order of the Buffalo Hunt in recognition for his many years as an Indigenous role model in 2010