Hello cyber world! My name is Kayla and I am one eighth aboriginal. My band is called Gitxsan. I am apart of the Wolf clan, which in my language is called Lax Gibuu. I also have some Irish and German blood in me, however, I consider myself 100 percent aboriginal. My grandmother, who passed away in April of 2013, raised me in our culture. She taught me the most important lessons in life: never judge, smile even when it hurts, love everyone and everything, and to always have hope for a better day. I carry those lessons with me every day. I firmly believe in living life with no regrets because in order to be happy with who you are today you have to appreciate the struggles and hardships.

Academically speaking, I am in the Interdisciplinary Program here at UBC. My focuses are the social sciences and humanities. I chose this route in education through trial and error, mostly through error unfortunately. Regardless, I could not be more ecstatic with my path! I am working towards becoming an elementary school teacher. I love children; they are always so positive and enduring. They truly are our future! I was fortunate enough to have many amazing and caring teachers who went above and beyond their educational duties to see me succeed. I wish to inspire children to be the best they can be, to give these young minds a nurturing environment where they can feel safe, and to make the horridly boring “curriculum” exciting and fun!

I really am not tech savvy, so this blog is in honour of a class I am taking: English 470A Canadian Studies: Canadian Literary Genres. This course is the study of Canadian literature in a historical context with a focus on the interactions between European and Aboriginal traditions of literature and orature. I am particularly intrigued by the idea of colonization and the history of my people. The only expectation I have for this course is to enrich my understanding of the relationships between the Europeans and Aboriginal cultures in our country.