Jessica Matten

Jessica Matten’s Path from Screen to Animation

For most of her career, Jessica Matten has operated at the intersection of acting and advocacy – building a reputation as one of Canada’s most prominent Indigenous performers across television, film, and independent media. Her shift into voice work arrived in 2026 with a casting decision that carried significance far beyond the studio booth. Matten was chosen to voice Katara in The Legend of Aang: The Last Airbender, the upcoming Avatar Studios animated feature, taking over the role from Mae Whitman in a deliberate industry move toward matching voice actors’ ethnic and racial backgrounds to their characters. For Matten, who carries Red River Metis-Cree heritage and has spent two decades advocating for Indigenous representation in North American media, the role landed as a natural extension of everything her career had been building toward.

Frontier, Dark Winds, and a Live-Action Foundation

The groundwork for Matten’s industry standing was laid through a string of high-profile television roles across the 2010s and 2020s. Her portrayal of Sokanon in the Discovery Canada and Netflix series Frontier, opposite Jason Momoa, earned her recognition at the Canadian Screen Awards through nominations in categories tied to the series. The role established her screen presence and opened doors to larger ensemble work. She followed it with appearances in Burden of Truth on CW and CBC, and then took on a lead role in Tribal on APTN, where she also served as associate producer – a credit that pointed toward her ambitions behind the camera as much as in front of it.

Beginning in 2022, Matten joined the AMC crime drama Dark Winds as Sergeant Bernadette Manuelito, the only female sergeant on a Navajo reservation police force. The series drew immediate critical attention for its authentic depiction of Navajo life, and Matten’s performance became one of its anchors across multiple seasons. She also appeared in the 2024 Netflix film Rez Ball, a sports drama centered on a Native American high school basketball team competing for the state championship.

The Legend of Aang and the Katara Casting

When Avatar Studios announced the principal cast for The Legend of Aang: The Last Airbender, Matten’s selection as Katara drew attention for what it represented as much as for the performance itself. Casting director Jenny Jue explained that the decision reflected an increased industry emphasis on aligning voice actors’ backgrounds with the cultural identities of their characters – a shift that gathered momentum following the conclusion of the original Nickelodeon series. Matten posted from the recording studio on social media, confirming her involvement ahead of the film’s planned October 9, 2026 release. Her casting places her at the center of one of animation’s most significant franchise revivals of the decade.

Advocacy, Production, and the Work Beyond the Screen

Parallel to her acting career, Matten has sustained a body of community work that predates her television profile. She has spent over 25 years involved in suicide prevention and addiction counseling for First Nations youth, and co-founded the #N8Vgirls campaign to raise awareness about missing and murdered Indigenous women in Canada. As president of 7 Forward Entertainment, an Indigenous-owned production company based on the West Coast of Canada, she has shaped the kinds of stories that reach Indigenous communities and wider audiences alike. She also co-founded the Counting Coup Indigenous Film Academy, which provides film and stunt training to emerging First Nations, Metis, and Inuit artists. The Red Nation International Film Festival recognized her work with a Best Lead Actress award in 2022, and she received the Chadwick Boseman Changemaker Award in 2026.