Nicholas XEMŦOLTW̱ Claxton

NICHOLAS XEMŦOLTW̱ CLAXTON

Academic Director of Living Lab, UVic School of Child & Youth Care

I work with UVic as an assistant professor in the Department of Child and Youth Care. I am also a W̱SÁNEĆ community member and past Chief of the SȾÁUTW̱ (TSAWOUT) First Nation. My teaching and research are centered on the revitalization and resurgence of Indigenous knowledge through community-based and land-based research and education. I am honoured to support the Living Lab Project’s community-driven work, which bridges eco-cultural restoration and Indigenous Resurgence.

https://www.uvic.ca/hsd/cyc/community-alumni/home/indigenous/index.php

JohnHarris

John Harris

Indigenous Education Elder & Indigenous Knowledge Facilitator SD61

’Uy’ skweyul,

I am an Indigenous Educator and member of Snuneymuxw (Nanaimo) First Nation, working in the Greater Victoria School District’s Indigenous Education Department as the Elders and Indigenous Knowledge Facilitator. I am grateful for the privilege of living, working, and playing in the traditional territory of the Songhees and Esquimalt First Nations and passionate about weaving local Indigenous perspectives and knowledge into educational opportunities for youth. As an educator and a father, I have found that incredibly profound learning occurs at the intersection between traditional ecological knowledge of local First Peoples, land-based experiential teaching, and an openness on the part of student and educator alike to embrace Uy’skwuluwun (a good mind and a good heart) when doing this work.

Huy ch q‛u Siem
RuthLyall

Ruth Lyall

Indigenization Coordinator, Camosun College

Nugwa’am ɁIxcəmga. Gayutɫan lax Gwa’yasdams. My Kwaḱwala-given name, Ixcəmga, was given to me by my Coon family, from the village of Gwa’yasdams, of the Kwiḵwa̱sut̓inux̱w Nation. My mother is the later Louisa Lyall (nee Coon). My English name is Ruth Lyall. My father is Ron Lyall, who is second-generation Canadian, from England. I have been a visitor in WSÁNEĆ and lək̓ʷəŋən territories almost all of my life, having moved here in 1977, and I am very grateful to these lands, waters, skies and people for being such generous and gracious hosts.

I am a member of Eyēʔ Sqȃ’lewen, the Centre for Indigenous Education & Community Connections (IECC) team at Camosun College. I have worked in diverse areas of Indigenous Education, within post-secondary, for 20 years. I have worked as an Indigenous student advisor, Elders Voices coordinator, coordinator of community-based partnerships with local Nations, and teaching faculty of Indigenous studies. I am currently in the role of Indigenization Coordinator.

I am honoured to participate in the Living Lab project, as its goals and principles/values align with my respect and admiration for the local Nations and their resurgence efforts in uplifting Indigenous knowledge and inherent rights to/use of traditional lands and waters. In moving towards Indigenous sovereignty, I believe it is important to be led by Indigenous voices and that we, as educators, provide learning opportunities that support Indigenous capacity and self-determination.

Renee Sampson

SXEDTELISIYE – Renee Sampson

WSANEC School Board

Bio Coming Soon!

TyeSwallow

Tye Swallow

Adult Education Facilitator WSANEC Schoolboard

I am a Facilitator for Language Revitalization with the W̱SÁNEĆ School Board. My interest in being involved in the Living Lab work revolves around helping transform educational structures to be more inclusive of Indigenous ways of knowing and being in our homeland. My passion lies in expanding W̱SÁNEĆ ability to practice their treaty rights through education.

TriciaRoche

Tricia Roche

UVic – HSD Development Officer

After a decade of experience in youth-focused research at UVic, I now work as a Development & External Relations Officer in the Faculty of Human & Social Development. I find congruence between the values we center in Living Lab and my interest in the principles of human rights philanthropy: power shifting, accountability, community-driven, equity and creativity in driving social change. I provide strategic advice on securing resources for land-based learning, capacity building and decolonization initiatives of Living Lab. I have been grateful to raise my children on Coast Salish territory.

ErichKelch

Erich Kelch

PARKS CANADA – Sea Gardens Project Manager

My name is Erich Kelch, and I was born in Lekwungen territory/Victoria and now live on PKAALS/Mt. Tolmie/District of Saanich. I am of German and English descent and feel connected to the people and landscape of Vancouver Island. My work has spanned all levels of government, non-profits and private industry. I recently moved from the CRD to Parks Canada to help manage the Sea Gardens Project.

I am passionate about understanding the history of this place and working on our responsibilities to each other and mother earth to leave a vibrant home for future generations. While I am very concerned about the trends we are seeing, I choose to be motivated by hope and the belief that we can do great things by working together.

For this reason, I want to be connected to the Living Lab project, where culture, science, conservation and people overlap. I get excited by learning, sharing and growing through Living Lab. This network can play a significant role in this community.

DorotheaHarris

Dorothea Harris

Office of Indigenous & Academic Community Engagement, Indigenous Initiatives Coordinator. Director, Indigenous University Initiatives.

My family is from Snuneymuxw First Nation, and I am a grateful visitor on the Lekwungen, W̱SÁNEĆ and Sc’ianew territories in Victoria, BC. I hold a BSW (Indigenous Specialization) from UVic and am a Ph.D. student in Leadership Studies, Adult Education and Community Engagement. My focus is on the impacts of post-secondary education on Coast Salish students. I am the Director of Indigenous University Initiatives at UVic. In my role at UVic, I work closely with the Living Lab to support the project’s funding and the important work of community engagement. Previously, I spent many years doing community work as a front-line social worker in the non-profit sector and Education Manager for a local First Nation. I am passionate about community work and developing community-university partnerships that support the success of local Indigenous students.My family is from Snuneymuxw First Nation, and I am a grateful visitor on the Lekwungen, W̱SÁNEĆ and Sc’ianew territories in Victoria, BC. I hold a BSW (Indigenous Specialization) from UVic and am a Ph.D. student in Leadership Studies, Adult Education and Community Engagement. My focus is on the impacts of post-secondary education on Coast Salish students. I am the Indigenous Initiatives Coordinator at UVic. In my role at UVic, I work closely with the Living Lab to support the project’s funding and the important work of community engagement. Previously, I spent many years doing community work as a front-line social worker in the non-profit sector and Education Manager for a local First Nation. I am passionate about community work and developing community-university partnerships that support the success of local Indigenous students.

Heather Castleden

Heather Castleden

UVic Academic Co-Leads
Professor and Impact Chair in Transformative Governance for Planetary Health

Hello! My name is Heather, which is the name given to a flowering evergreen plant that thrives on the peaty barren lands of Scotland, where my ancestors are from. I am a white Settler researcher, trained as a health geographer. I do community-based participatory research in solidarity with Indigenous Peoples in their communities and with their organizations and Nations on their priority issues that fall within my areas of experience: the nexus of cultures, places, power/resistance, and relational ethics.

I am the Scientific Director of the Health, Environment, and Communities Research Lab (HEC Lab) that focuses on reconciliatory, respectful, reciprocal, and responsible community-led participatory research. The HEC Lab is committed to equity-oriented projects that apply social, environmental, and health lenses, and our work comes together through intersections of cultures, places, power/resistance, and relational ethics using innovative, decolonizing research methodologies.

I have lived in multiple Indigenous territories and having received teaching from many generous and patient Indigenous Elders and Knowledge-Keepers, I am grateful to now live and work (as an uninvited guest) in the traditional territories of the lək̓ʷəŋən speaking peoples: the Esquimalt, the Songhees and the W̱SÁNEĆ First Nations. I acknowledge, with respect and deep appreciation, their close and continuing relationship to the land and waters surrounding us and I am committed to learning how to be a good guest here, and to support others in their learning journeys to doing the same.

Darcy Mathews

,
Assistant Professor, School of Environmental Studies, UVic.
UVic Academic Co-Leads

I am an Archaeologist and Ethnoecologist working primarily via UVic with the Songhees Nation. We are working collaboratively at Tl’ches (Chatham/Discovery Island), looking at the ways in which the Lekwungen peoples there managed their ecosystems through time. This includes plant foods, such as blue camas, and Springbank clover. We are also looking at the archaeological record of the islands, including three large village sites. These are places where we can bring together community knowledge and science to co-discover the deep history of the islands and the ways in which its inhabitants so successfully and sustainably managed their home over hundreds and thousands of years.

As a father and community-focused person, I particularly enjoy working with youth as part of the Living Lab Program. I have been asked by Songhees elder Sellemah/Joan Morris, to work towards getting the youth back to the islands, and back to the land. I also love archaeology and gardening, and this is an excellent opportunity for us to all get our hands dirty caring for culturally important plants, and also work with village sites to learn more about traditional foods, history, and ways of life.