You have to look deeper, way below the anger, the hurt, the hate, the jealousy, the self-pity, way down deeper where the dreams lie, son. Find your dream. It’s the pursuit of the dream that heals you.

BILLY
– Billy Mills (father), Oglala Lakota (1938-)

I was born in a small town called Ashcroft British Columbia. I was delivered by my grandmother in a small two room shack right beside the Thompson River. Since it was Christmas my family decided that they would name me Noel, as it was fitting for the occasion. My family is primarily First Nations coming from the Sqilxw, Nlaka’pamux, and Secwepemc First Nations. I have Irish decent as well from my grandmother’s side of the family. My grandmother birthed thirteen of her own children and with her experiences in delivering so many babies she was able to act as a birthing practitioner on that special day, since there was not a doctor near by.
Because of poverty and the effects of the residential school system, my family life was difficult as a small child. My younger brother and I were raised by our grandmother and she was an amazing and strong woman for taking care of us. My brother and I wanted to have more in our lives and we knew that we would have to work very hard to accomplish success. At times we had difficulties but we both agreed to do the work.
As I became a young man and began to have children of my own, I wanted to provide a decent quality of life for them. I became a school support worker, primarily working with First Nations youth. I was able to do this by completing a Human Services Worker certificate program at the Thompson Rivers University (TRU) in Kamloops British Columbia. Originally I intended on becoming a social worker and wanted to save the world. Upon completion of the program I quickly found work in the Kamloops school district. I worked as a Student Support Worker for nearly eight years and decided to pursue a degree in teaching.
I enrolled into the teaching program called the Native Indian Teacher Education Program (NITEP). I completed three years of my undergrad in Kamloops at TRU and finished my last tow years in Vancouver at the University of British Columbia (UBC). I am very excited to begin my new career and look forward to participating in the lives of young learners. As I come to an end of this portion of my educational endeavors, I feel very satisfied with my decision to go back to university and earn a degree.
My family is very important to me and I will continue to work hard to provide a positive future for my children.