I was raised by my grandmother on the banks of the Cowichan river, Comeakin reserve, Vancouver Island, British Columbia. Gran was a respected elder in our community. I learned our traditional language, Hul' qami' num, from her.

I spent most of my life on the river. I learned how to carry on the tradition of fishing by watching the old people. I practiced spearing using an old bike tire which was rolled down the hill for us to throw our poles and ropes at. We advanced to driftwood floating on the river to improve our aim. I speared my first salmon when I was 11.

In my early teens I confronted a group of archaeology students and their teacher who were on our reserve digging up ancestral remains from one of our burial sites. I was angry as once again my culture was being literally stolen, raided by European settlers. My confrontation prevented further excavation and the remains, along with artifacts (beads, copper bracelets, arrowheads and spear tips) were returned. Over the past 14 years I have worked for Cowichan Tribes as a cultural advisor for archaeologists in the field recovering ancestral remains and surveying burial sites on Vancouver Island, the Gulf Islands and the Mainland, including the recovery of remains and artifacts from schools and museums. The science of archaeology gives us important insight into the history of the Cowichan people, how we lived and died. My responsibility in the field is to oversee the cultural component of the recovery, ensuring the remains are handled with respect and dignity, and that the site will not be disturbed again. I bring the remains back to Cowichan where a proper ceremony is conducted for their reburial in a sacred site. Elders host a burning offering prayers and food for our ancestors.

For several years I have worked with archaeologists studying culturally modified trees. Identifying CMTs - bark cut and stripped from Cedar trees, allows us to map, assess and collect data on traditional territories of our First Nations people. CMTs indicate a village, camping or fishing site. We look for flint, fire-cracked rock, shell midden, fish and bird bones. Coast Salish peoples used the inside of the stripped Cedar bark for clothing, hats, mats and wall dividers in our Long House.

When I was 16 the tradition of digging graves was handed down to me. Not anyone can do this work. It must remain in the family bloodline, handed down from the family's family and their family before them. This shows the family is strong. It is most honourable work to help your First Nations people, keeping the culture alive. My responsibility is to the person being buried, to prepare their bed, their final resting place, to face this with respect following the original teachings of our people.

I graduated from the "Aboriginal Film & Television Training Program" at Capilano College. I am fascinated with film and have a passion for documentaries based on Aboriginal culture. When I was in school our Elders came in to share stories of our culture, our legends, dance, songs and teachings. I wish to preserve our culture using film to hold that time and place of the Elders for the rest of their life and for the generations to come. Visionkeeper encourages our youth to get involved in film for educational purposes and we support the next generation of Aboriginal filmmakers. My career goal is to create a docu-drama and feature length film. Visionkeeper Film Productions has several projects in the development stages.