Jani is a multidisciplinary artist of Metis ancestry. She is a nine-time Dora Mavor Moore nominated actress, director and writer, a three-time Juno nominated singer/songwriter, a CAMA nominated singer/songwriter, an award-winning screen actress, a Gemini Award winning puppeteer and a Toronto Theatre Critics award-winning director. Awarded “Best Actress” at the American Indian Film Festival and the Dreamspeakers Film Festival for her portrayal of Doris in “A Windigo Tale.” Dora-nominated and Toronto Theatre Critics award-winning Director for Almighty Voice and his Wife (Soulpepper). As a puppeteer she enjoyed working with Ernie Coombs on “The Mr. Dress-Up Show” and won a Gemini for her role as Seeka in the series “Wumpa's World.” She takes pride in her alternate career as an artist educator that began at Claude Watson School for the Arts in the early 1980s and has continued in institutions such as The Centre for Indigenous Theatre, Humber College and The National Theatre School. Her company, Paper Canoe Projects produces her original work including A Side of Dreams, I Call myself Princess and Prophecy Fog as well as her two films “eu·tha·na·sia” and “Just One Word.” 
Jani has been a strong advocate for inclusivity of cultural and physically diverse artists on Canadian screens through her work as the Diversity Advocate at ACTRA for over 20 years.

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