Daii niishanax! (hello in Hanis Coos)

I am from the Tlingit and Haida Nation, the Blackfeet Nation, and Hanis Coos Confederacy. I moved to East Glacier this summer, an intended pitstop on my way over to Seattle but I fell in love with the mountains. I grew up in East Harlem in NYC, but spent some years in Boston and most recently Denver. For the last two years, I've been in Denver working at the Museum of Contemporary Art and my associates in creative writing.

Currently, I am a supply teacher at the local K-8, the children have a hard time saying my name so most opt for "Aunty, Aunty!". I love my job and am often gifted beautiful works of art. I work two days a week at Browning Lumber and Hardware and spend my free time managing my Grandma's gallery. I am currently working on a website for her, which gives me an excuse to nerd out over her paintings!

Most recently I've been working on a commission myself, illustrating coastal native stories through the anthropologist Melville's work.

My favourite place in the US is New Mexico. I lived in Las Cruces for a short duration and think about the colours and smells there often.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I travel fairly often, and am blessed to have family all over this country to crash with- but sometimes they don't overlap. I've used air-bnb before, although it usually didn't offer much interaction with locals. After mentioning my desire to connect with hosts a friend suggested couch surfer. I am hoping this will encourage dialogues that engage me with and bring beautiful people into the mix too.

Interests

• art
• language
• biking
• botany
• musuems

Music, Movies, and Books

I've recently started loving a Mexican artist named Natalia LaFourcade. Her singing reminds me of Chavela Vargas and Lila Downs, some of the music that my Mama filled our home with.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I've paddled 40 miles on the CTCLUSI tribal dug-out canoe. Canoe Journey is a yearly event in which dozens of northwest tribes and indigenous communities paddle from landing to landing together. Each landing is sponsored by a tribe and strengthens our intertribal relationships through the healing of the canoe and potlatch culture. Tribes along the NW have been hosting and engaging in potlatch for hundreds of years, it is how we have traded historically and currently. We share our songs, dances, and present gifts to our hosting tribe to show them who we are and where we come from.

What I Can Share with Hosts

I try to keep my costal culture alive here in Montana through gifting people that I have meaningful encounters with. This is how I show who I am and what I am working on in my own life, so that is constantly changing!