What do you do?
I am Swinomish and Visayan (Filipina) and an educator with the Northwest Indian College – Coast Salish Institute where I teach about our Swinomish culture and history. Also, I am active in the environmental justice movement working in partnership with local tribes in affiliation with the Indigenous Environmental Network. I do the best that I can to care for our mother earth and my own elder mother, while passing the baton on to the next generations. I follow the philosophy of peace and honorable community engagement as a facilitator, mediator and collaborator.
What do you love about this area?
That’s a big question, since I am part Swinomish and was raised here on the Salish Sea. I love the nature here, the water, salmon, cedar are icons for our Coast Salish peoples. We farm the sea, we are people by the water, we are people of the salmon. I love that so many people are stepping forward to fight for the water. Our most powerful teaching stories include the water. And I love that so many of our young people are pulling in those sacred canoes, pulling for strength, healing and life. We are stronger together, when we are united and that is part of the work that I do. I stand with unity, I stand with Standing Rock, #NoDAPL, #NoPipelines, #KeepFossilFuelsInTheGround, #ProtectTheSalishSea, #PaddleForLife ~ t'ig'wicid