I am a member of the Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish) First Nation. My ancestral name is Styawat and I am an ethnobotanist by training. I have worked with my home community of Sḵwx̱wú7mesh, and other Indigenous communities, on research, teaching, ecological restoration and planting projects connected to Indigenous plant knowledge.

 I hold a Masters of Science in Ethnobotany from the University of Victoria that I completed  under the guidance of Dr. Nancy Turner, Dr. Trevor Lantz. I completed my PhD focused on ethnobotany and Indigenous land-based and community-based research under the guidance of  Dr. Darcy Mathews (University of Victoria)  and Dr. Alain Cuerrier (Université de Montréal) in March 2024. All of my academic training has been guided by my community mentors, elders and is carried out in honor of my ancestors and future generations. 

My interest in the relationship between food and culture developed at an early age and was nourished by my visits with my late great uncle, Chester Thomas, and his wife Eva. My grandmother’s family is from the Snuneymuxw, or Nanaimo First Nations. I visited Chester and Eva often at their home along the Nanaimo River when I was a child. My memories of that time include picking fresh fruits and vegetables from their garden and watching my uncle prepare the salmon that he and my aunt caught and smoked on their property. I remember the fresh blackberry juice my aunt would often make to go with each meal.

These early experiences had a lasting impact on me. They were responsible for instilling in me a deep respect for the natural world. They also developed my awareness of how important the links between food and culture are. These meals have stayed vividly with me, not only because we were eating healthy food but because of the spirituality that was woven into them in the harvesting and preparing of the foods and the offering of thanks to the plants and animals that had given their lives for our nourishment.

Through my  work so far I have focused largely on Indigenous knowledge renewal and building connections to place and to health through working with Indigenous plant foods and medicines. There is such a gift in this work of connection between culture, health and the environment. It is wonderful to look to the knowledge holders in a community to guide the development of programs and resources so that others in the community may learn and participate. A major focus in my past work has been on the importance of getting out onto the land and learning in a hands-on way about culturally important plants and how they connect us to place.

I am currently living in my traditional homelands in Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish).