Born in Niagara Falls, New York, Shelley Niro currently lives in Brantford, Ontario and is a member of the Six Nations Reserve, Bay of Quinte Mohawk, Turtle Clan. Her multimedia practice, which involves photography, painting, beadwork and film, is directed toward realistic and explorative portrayals of indigenous people. Niro graduated from the Ontario College of Art with honors and received her M.F.A. from the University of Western Ontario. In 2012 she was the inaugural recipient of the Aboriginal Arts Award presented through the Ontario Arts Council. In 2017 Niro received the Governor General’s Award in Visual and Media Arts, the Scotiabank Photography Award, the Hnatyshyn Foundation’s REVEAL Indigenous Art Award, and the Visual Arts Award from the Dreamcatcher Charitable Foundation.