təms jɛajɛ (our team)
Meet members of our Team
Koosen Devin Pielle
Koosen is a member of the Tla’Amin Nation. She has traveled extensively in Canada and BC as a Youth Leader and with the First Nations Health Authority. Koosen has been part of the language team in Tla’amin for 9 years, and has described being part of the language team as “picking up where her grandmother left off”. Koosen utilizes radio, film, print, and social media to share the language with her people.
Jacqueline Mathieu
Jacqueline, a member of the Klahoose First Nation, has worked in her community’s language team for the last eight years. Language documentation, preservation & revitalization keeps her grounded in who she is as an Indigenous French-Canadian woman. Coproducing indigenous media content as well as navigating communications between settler establishments and her community keep her very busy. Jacqueline’s strengths include clear thought-out communication and she believes the way forward is by lifting people up, building capacity and investing in our people.
Shelby George
Shelby George is from the Tla’amin first nation and intergenerational residential school survivor. She is proud of where she comes from. Shelby’s passion for media and storytelling came from working on a radio documentary that highlighted the impacts of residential school, and specifically how it impacted language in her community. It is called “We are still here”. She loves learning and practicing her culture, and has participated in two big canoe journeys so far. Her goals are to become fluent in the language, and to share what she has learned. Currently, Shelby is doing makeup live streams for the community. In the near future, she will implement language into her live streams. Shelby is looking forward to expanding her media skills, and applying it to language revitalization for her and her community.
Emily White
Emily is from Klahoose and Tla’amin Nations and just graduated from UVic with a Bachelor of Arts with a Major in Indigenous Studies and a Minor in Applied Ethics. She is the designer behind Emily’s Beading and recently was elected to the Klahoose Nations Chief and Council.
Allison Conibear
Allison Conibear comes from the Klahoose, Tla’Amin, and Le’eyqsun Nations, as well as an English heritage. A writer, student, researcher, and dreamer – Allison is currently taking a break from the Indigenous Studies Bachelors Program at the University of Victoria. She will be working as an intern for the Ministry of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation as a Communications Specialist in the fall of 2021. She is also working with the Klahoose First Nation in collaboration with the University of Victoria as a Research Assistant on their strategic plan for language revitalization. Allison is going into the future passionate about learning, reconnection, reclamation, visual arts, and writing.
Celine Mickey
Celine is Nuu-chah-nulth from the Hesquiaht Nation, currently residing in Coast Salish territory.
Her creations represent who she is as an Indigenous woman, with inspiration from nations across Turtle Island.
“I love creating, because it is grounding for my heart and spirit. I feel power in reclaiming and modernizing traditional crafts of my people.”
Amira Abouelalla
Amira is from Toronto, Ontario where she was born and raised until the age of 12. That same year, she moved to Egypt with her family where she lived and went to school for 5 years. Living in Egypt, Amira was able to learn and speak her father-tongue– Arabic– and reconnect with her Egyptian culture. Amira is also Ojibway from Keeseekoowenin First Nations in Manitoba and has Black ancestry from Nova scotia.
Amira studied at York University where she received her BA bachelor’s degree with honours in English and a bachelor of education. Amira’s goal has always been to work in education to change, understand, and prevent further injustices against Indigenous Peoples in Canada. In her down time, Amira enjoys travelling, reading, writing, kayaking, and cycling.
Rhys Galligos
Rhys was born and raised in ɬaʔamɛn and has familial ties to ƛohos through her father’s side, she has been working with jehjeh Media since November of 2021. Rhys is an artist of many mediums who is currently describing her art style as abstract portraiture, she is also an aspiring producer. Rhys has begun to ground herself in her culture and has begun to feel comfortable using Traditional themes, stories, and shapes of our ʔayʔajuθəm people. Though this does not always have to be a defining feature of the piece, as Rhys aims to break down the boundaries of being an Indigenous artist, as it isn’t always defined by painting Traditional artwork. Another aspect that she carries with pride is her relationship to plant life that surrounds us, loving, giving, and utilizing the medicines and foods local to our area and people. The connection to our surroundings gives us insight into our culture and an unspoken understanding of who we are and were as Indigenous people.
Zoë Ludski
Zoë is a settler in Tla’Amin Territory dedicated to serving the land and language of her adopted home. She is a first generation settler of mixed race South African ancestry from the ethnic community known as the Cape Coloureds in Cape Town (//Hui !Gaeb, IKapa), South Africa. Her parents fled apartheid to continue their ‘mixed-race’ relationship.
Zoë works in multi-media storytelling and is passionate about pedagogy especially as it relates to using the arts and technology in social justice education. Her role in jehjeh Media is to support the work of local language warriors as an ally, technology resource, and mentor. She hopes to role model to other settlers healthy cross cultural relationships.