Lee Claremont was born in Woodstock, Ontario. She is of Mohawk-Irish ancestry and is a member of the Grand River Iroquois Six Nations in Oshweken, Ontario. Lee received her Bachelor of Fine Arts (honours) from the University of British Columbia in the beautiful Okanagan Valley. She won an Angel Award for the "largest individual creative contribution in the visual arts in the Okanagan Valley." She is a respected instructor at the En'owkin Centre, an internationally recognized Aboriginal college.