Ta7talíya Nahanee belongs to Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish Nation). She is a decolonial creative and educator who lives and works in her ancestral homelands on the shared territory of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) peoples, also known as the City of Vancouver.

Ta7talíya grew up on Mission Indian Reserve and was part of the East Van punk and art scene as a young adult. She carries the traditional teachings from her Nation and Elders, alongside the urban Indigenous teachings she continues to uphold through her community-facing work with the Metro Vancouver Aboriginal Executive Council.

Ta7talíya’s collaborations have influenced opinions, changed behaviours, and mobilized community action. Her approach, which focuses on critical allyship, anti-racist communication, decolonizing practices, and cultural safety, earned her the 2019 City of Vancouver Award of Excellence in Diversity and Inclusion. She is a 2024 Dialogue Associate with the Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue at Simon Fraser University, where she earned her MA in Communications in 2018.

Want to know how to pronounce Ta7talíya? Click here