Through Coyote Science, we introduce Indigenous youth and their friends to Indigenous scientists in their community who inspire them, encourage love of the sciences and share Indigenous world views and approaches. It is important that all our content, creative and research, is culturally competent and of benefit to Indigenous children and youth. We acknowledge that there are many Indigenous Nations, languages, ways of living and knowledge systems, and each are distinct and sovereign. Please meet our Knowledge Holders & Scientists & Engineers

Tracey Kim Boneau (syilx) Tracey is a multiple award-winning veteran documentary Director/Writer/Producer with extensive experience in project management. Her expertise is building highly effective teams and creating multi-platform projects. Tracey is a member of the Syilx Nation/Okanagan, born and raised on the Penticton Indian Reserve in British Columbia. Tracey’s work is known to be future-oriented with innovation, including working now in AR and VR, including protecting the Huckleberry territories. Her documentaries are hard-hitting. She created 5 seasons of Quest Out West, a popular series about food sovereignty and food security, that focuses on the four Food Chiefs of the Syilx Nation. She is also one of the guiding Media Matriarchs of the IM4 Lab and she is expanding

T’uy’t’tanat is a Skwxwu7mesh/Sto:Lo/ Hawaiian/Swiss media artist and an ethnobotanist, traditionally trained by Indigenous Elders. Her work highlights Indigenous languages and cultural elements, and often takes the shape of gardens created in abandoned yards and other spaces where she restores and remediates Indigenous plants and ecosystems that once existed there. Throughout Wyss’s 30-year practice, her work encompasses storytelling and collaborative initiatives of natural spaces. She has participated and exhibited at galleries, museums, festivals, and public spaces such as Vancouver Art Gallery, Morris, Helen Belkin Art Gallery, Contemporary Art Gallery, and the PuSh Festival, to name a few. Their work can be found in various collections such as the National Library of Canada, Special Collections at the Walter Phillips Gallery, and the Vancouver Public Library. She is also part of the IM4 Lab as one of the guiding Media Matriarchs and she is expanding her creative work to include VR and AR.

T’uy’t’tanat- Cease Wyss - Ethnobotanist

Tsatassaya White is a proud member of the Snuneymuxw First Nation (Coast Salish) and also a member, holding the name Teniso, of the Takiishtakamlthat (Earthquake House) of the Hupacasath Nation (Nuu-chah-nulth). Tsatassaya is a hul’q’umi’num’ language learner and is a current student in Simon Fraser University’s Masters in Linguistics in an Indigenous Language. She also has a BA in Anthropology from the University of British Columbia and a Diploma in Linguistics of an Indigenous Language from Simon Fraser University.

Tsatassaya worked as a senior coordinator for the Aboriginal Participation Function of the 2010 Olympic Winter Games Vancouver Organizing Committee (VANOC), working in collaboration with the Four Host First Nations. She also was on the Board for the 2016 BC Summer Games and held the position of Director of Protocol.

Tsatassaya is the founder of the annual Sumshathut (Sun) Festival, an Indigenous cultural festival held in Nanaimo, BC. Her directorial debut was the play “Trying to Keep Up” by Nisga’a playwright Angus Castor at the New Waves Festival 2022. Her passion for promoting traditional Indigenous knowledge and culture has led her to work among other recent projects; Artistic Lead on a reconciliation community theatre project titled “Messages on Doors” co-produced with The Foxqueen company held in Nanaimo & Port Alberni and Cowichan. She is the guest curator of “huulthapi “Dancing Airwaves” an Indigenous dance panel produced by

Tsatassaya White, B.A. (Anthropology, UBC)

Kari Kēhau Noe is a computer scientist and graduate research assistant at the Laboratory for Advanced Visualization and Applications (LAVA) pursuing a PHD in computer science at the University of Hawaii at Mānoa. Her interests are Human Computer interaction, Interactive Media, Virtual/ Augmented Reality Dev, Learning Technologies, Games, and Animation. And here is her website with more work. https://kehaunoe.com/

Caroline Running-Wolf is a cultural acclimation artist who was raised in the USA, Canada and Germany. She is a member of the Apsáalooke Nation (Crow) in Montana, and also is Swabian with Pikuni, Oglala, and Winnebago heritage. As a multilingual cultural acclimation artist, she supports Indigenous language and culture vitality. Together with her husband, Michael Running Wolf, they create virtual and augmented reality experiences to advocate for Native American voices, languages and cultures. Caroline has a Master’s degree in Native American Studies from Montana State University in Bozeman, Montana. She is pursuing her PhD in anthropology at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver.

Caroline Running-Wolf - Cultural Acclimation Artist

Michael Running-Wolf (Northern Cheyenne/Lakota/Blackfeet) was raised by his grandmother in northern Montana with intermittent water and electricity; naturally he has a Master’s of Science in Computer Science, is a former engineer for Amazon’s Alexa, former faculty at Northeastern University, and is pursuing a PhD in Computer Science at McGill University. With his wife Caroline, he researches Indigenous language and culture reclamation using immersive technologies (AR/VR) and artificial intelligence. His work has been awarded a MIT Solve Fellowship, the Alfred P. Sloan Fellowship, and the Patrick McGovern AI for Humanity Prize. He works for the ethical application of AI and advanced technology that respects Indigenous ways of knowing, contributing to the ecology of Indigenous thought.

Shoysqwelwhet Dr. Gwen Point is a respected Stó:lõ leader, mentor, and cultural advisor dedicated to creating opportunities for learning. She’s contributed her cultural knowledge and experience to many books, conferences, workshops, and communities and earned many accolades and awards. She is a member of the Skowkale First Nation and the Knowledge Keeper for the BC Assembly of First Nations. She holds a BEd from UBC, MEd from the University of Portland, a PhD in Education from SFU, and an honorary doctorate from UVic. Dr. Point has also held a number of provincial government and regional posts supporting education, child and family services, and First Nations communities. And she was the a past chancellor for the University of the Fraser Valley.

Russell Wallace is an award-winning composer, producer and traditional singer from the Lil’wat Nation. His music can be heard on soundtracks for film, television and theatre/dance productions across Canada and the U.S. Wallace is one of the founding members of the Aboriginal Writers Collective West Coast and is an alumnus of the UBC Creative Writing program. Wallace has written poetry, short fiction, theatre, and music theatre. Wallace was the artist in residence at the Vancouver International Jazz Festival in 2019, a guest programmer for Word Vancouver and was the artistic director for the Aboriginal Electronic Music Festival for a number of years. Russell has composed for Coyote Science, the feature film Monkey Beach and other series, such as Quest OutWest: Wild Foods and 1491.

Amelia Winger-Bearskin from the Seneca-Cayuga, Deer Clan is an artist who innovates with artificial intelligence in ways that make a positive impact on our community and the environment. She is a Banks Family Preeminence Endowed Chair and Associate Professor of Artificial Intelligence and the Arts, at the Digital Worlds Institute at the University of Florida. She is the inventor of Honor Native Sky, a project for the U.S. Department of Arts and Culture: Honor Native Land Initiative. She founded WampumCodes, which is both an award-winning podcast and an ethical framework for software development based on Indigenous values.

Amelia Winger-Bearskin - Artist & Technologist

Joah Lui is a second generation Canadian born to parents from Guang Jow, Canton province, and Hong Kong. She lives with her partner and children in the shíshálh swiya. She is a filmmaker and interactive media artist who combines used electronics, natural, found and waste materials re-directed from the landfill. She is also knowledgeable about permaculture and organic gardening, practicing both at her family farm, Rolling Earth.

Joah Lui - Filmmaker & Interactive Media Artist

Cheyanna Kootenyahoo, also known as DJ Kookum, is a DJ and multimedia artist from Alexis Nakota Sioux Nation and Cold Lake First Nations, their maternal Denesuline traditional territory. Kookum has toured internationally with the Snotty Nose Res Kids, and held DJ residencies, ran their own videography, sound, and lighting --- honestly, nothing they can’t do. Kookum is also an editor and music supervisor here at Coyote Science and hosts the Immersive Knowledge Transfer Podcast produced by the Indigenous Matriarchs 4 Media Lab. Kookum is an open-format DJ inspired by EDM and Hip Hop music. This diverse-mix-diva is a force on the decks and always keeps the party hype, fresh, and unpredictable. https://www.djkookum.com/

Cheyanna Kootenhayoo - DJ & Multimedia Maker

Curtis Clearsky is a gifted musician, producer, and emcee. He’s Anishinabe from Waywayseecappo, Manitoba and Niitsiitapii (Blackfoot) from the Blood Tribe. He collaborates with Indigenous peoples from all over Turtle Island to create unique sounds. His new band, Curtis Clear Sky and Constellationz creates Indigifunk music and culture, with Hip-hop, Funk, Latin-Funk, Soul, Ska, Reggae and Blues, and features his wife Tia Taurere Clearsky. As a youth, Curtis was named a Messenger of Truth by the United Nations at the World Urban Forum in Vancouver. He also works to promote food security for Indigenous people, including at the Tyu’wut Project at the University of BC and the First Nations Food System Project and has worked as a family support worker for Indigenous families in the city.

Curtis Clearsky - Music & Niisipitapia Cultural Practitioner

Dr. Evan Adams is well known in the Indigenous communities and is a member of the Tla'amin (Sliammon) First Nation, near Powell River, British Columbia. This actor/playwright/producer turned-physician is best known for his role as Thomas Builds-The-Fire in the film Smoke Signals, as Seymour Polatkin in The Business of Fancydancing and Lost in the Barrens. His acting career also includes The Beachcombers, Da Vinci's Inquest, Da Vinci's City Hall, The L Word and Wolf Canyon. In addition to his impressive acting career, he’s an accomplished medical doctor, receiving his Medical Doctorate from the University of Calgary. During the COVID pandemic, Dr. Adams was Deputy Chief Medical Officer of Public Health for Indigenous Services Canada. He’s returned to the First Nations Health Authority, in BC, as part-time Deputy Chief Medical Officer, Public Health, co-leading with Dr. Wieman and Dr. Kelsey Louie.

Dr. Kelsey Louie is a family physician who completed residency in UBC’s Indigenous Family Practice Program. Being Coast Salish from the Tla'Amin First Nation in Powell River, BC, he is passionate about working to improve health and wellness outcomes in BC Fist Nations Communities. In addition to being one of the “Doctor’s Of the Day” with First Nations Health, Dr. Louie is Acting Deputy Chief Medical Officer at the FNHA. He has the traditional name Men'ahl'elten, that of an inherited Chief. Dr. Kelsey said of becoming a doctor, “Many Indigenous leaders, healers and knowledge keepers share a vision of seeing our own people in professions such as medicine, and they have worked hard to advocate for admission pathways and wrap-around supports to help our learners through this journey.”

Gwinitxw Yvonne Lattie is a Hereditary Gitxsan Chief. Yvonne is a fierce defender of the land and water and her culture. Gwinitxw says. “As Gitxsan we are inseparable from our land...This is the source of our strength, and our vision is of a continuing and renewed relationship between our people and our lands, intact and whole.”

Gwinitxw Yvonne Lattie – Gitxsan Hereditary Chief/Knowledge Holder

GWINITXW YVONNE LATTIE – GITXSAN HEREDITARY CHIEF/Knowledge Holder

James Shaw is a member of Batchewana First Nation. He was born and raised in Oshawa, Ontario, and is currently enrolled in the Bachelor of Computer Science Program at UBC after completing a degree in Materials Engineering. He is a member of the American Indian Science and Engineering Society and is dedicated to STEM community outreach, mentorship, and professional development for Indigenous students and professionals in STEM fields.

Kear Porttris is a Metis-Chinese engineer who focuses his career on Indigenous community energy use in British Columbia. He stays connected to his roots in all aspects of his life and when making choices for development he thinks 7 generations ahead. He has his master’s degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Victoria, a Business Diploma from the Saskatchewan Institute of Applied Science and Technology, and is a Certified Passive House Consultant. Kear is currently the Director of Indigenous Relations for QM Environmental and is the owner of Porttris Consulting Group.

I am a coast Salish artist and member of the Squamish Nation , I grew up on Whonnock reserve #1. I have always been interested in my culture and as a child spent many hours on the Fraser river fishing with my uncle, he would tell me the stories and legends that he grew up with . Through these experiences I find the inspiration to stay true true to my art . I am a new artist and mostly carve masks, though I work on all sorts of pieces in my carving studio at my home in Mission B.C. My most common medium is red cedar , though I do work with many types of wood and will work in Ivory as well.

Lindsay McIntyre (she/her)is a filmmaker and multi-disciplinary artist of Inuit and settler descent working primarily with analogue film. She has an MFA from Concordia University and a BFA in Painting and Drawing. Her multiple award-wining short documentaries, experimental films and expanded cinema performances are often process-based and for some she also makes her own 16mm film with handmade silver gelatine emulsion. She was recently named the 2021 Women in the Directors Chair Feature Film Award winner. She also works as an Associate Professor at ECUAD on the unceded Coast Salish territories.

Lindsay McIntyre - Filmmaker & Multidisciplinary Artist