Way xast sx̌əlx̌ʕalt (Hello and good day)

My name is Betty Cardenas and I am from the Penticton Indian Band. I started canoeing when I was 12 years old on

the Pulling Together Journey with the Kwsukwna?qinx Canoe family. Being part of canoe journeys and canoe families has had a massive impact on my life. It has given me so many strengths, medicine, discipline and team building skills. 

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I am extremely proud to be on this board to help continue this gratifying work and purpose of this canoe journey, uniting nations and communities in a good way to share traditional teachings, songs.

My hope is to get more canoes and more pulling days on this years upcoming journey and I hope that I can learn and grow into this role as a committee

member.

Lim Lemt (thank you)

Matthew is from the Snuneymuxw First Nation on his mother's side, and English/Scottish on his father's. Having participated in a handful of journeys in his youth, starting in the early 2000s when he was 11 and part of School District 46. Matthew joined the Collingwood canoe family after the 2012 journey and continued with them for the 2013 journey.

Time on the journey inspired Matt to pursue a career in law and justice. He completed his diploma at the Justice Institute for law enforcement before continuing on to BCIT for Forensic Investigation.

After starting a family of his own Matt joined Ch’ich’iyuy, the WVPD family as a skipper for the 2018 and 2019 journeys. He assisted the latest RCMP canoe family Steqó:ya in the upper fraser valley. 

Anneke attended her first journey in 2019 and this inspired her to get the Law Society of BC involved. She is a lawyer, working in the protection of the public interest. She is honoured and excited to join the board.

Linda has been a participant of Pulling Together Canoe Journey since 2001, involved in roles as a puller, skipper, safety consultant, and now a member of the Board of Directors. A career that includes local, national and international experiences in the law enforcement field and working with youth as a martial arts instructor for 20 plus years.  

A new work transfer will be a challenge for Linda to attend the next year’s journey, but her belief in what Pulling Together Canoe Journey’s brings to all those who participate will keep her involved, just from a distance.

Ruby has been our resident Elder since the 2018 canoe journey. She offers her wisdom and opinions on all matters within the board of directors.

In 2006 Rob became familiar with the Pulling Together Canoe Journeys at a Pulling Together Canoe Society barbeque – after discussion with some of the planners, Rob, a Reserve with the Royal Canada Navy, since 1981, saw an opportunity to have the Royal Canadian Navy provide support in areas of marine knowledge and safety.  Rob and Randy Young were the first Royal Canadian Navy participants in the role of support vessel in the PT Canoe Journey 2007.

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Rob began providing additional support as a Safety consultant in the PT Canoe Journey 2009 and then provided additional support and mentorship for the youth who planned the 2010 PT Canoe Journey and continues that work serving on the 2016 Board of Directors.

In 2011 he was asked to join the board of directors based on his continued participation as a Safety Consultant.  In 2013 he was appointed Director of Safety for the PT Canoe Society.

Sempulyan is of Musqueam and Squamish ancestry. He has participated in Tribal Journeys: 2009 to Suquamish, 2010 to Makah, 2014 to Bella Bella, 2016 to Nisqually, 2017 to Campbell River, 2018 to Puyallup, 2019 to Lummi,and 2023 to Muckleshoot. He has also joined Pulling Together in 2017, 2019, and 2024. He sits on the VPD Indigenous Advisory Council, WV Indigenous Education Council, and the Squamish Ocean Canoe Family. Sempulyan has been living clean and sober since April 3, 2007.

 From the St’at’imc Nation on her mother’s side and Witsuwit’en on her father’s side. Her very first Pulling Together Canoe Journey was in 2011 with the UN-Easy (Unya and COELS-Easy) Canoe family. The Collingwood Aboriginal Youth C.R.E.W program amplified her love for paddling when she attended the 2013 journey in the Shushwap. She was on the PTCS Board in 2015 and has continued to play a role as Friend of the Board until she was elected as a board member a few years later. Her enthusiasm and excitement for every journey has encouraged her to continue the work she does at the Collingwood Neighbourhood House where she is the Co-Coordinator of the Indigenous Youth C.R.E.W Program.

kwachalap ?t ?iy (greetings to everyone)

kwamanchi chen skwish 

kwamanchi is my traditional name meaning Spanish chief. My legal name is Alfonso Salinas. I have Aztec and Mayan ancestry through my dads side and hereditary blood lines through both my shishalh grandparents from my moms side. 

I am the traditional wellness coordinator for the shishalh nation. I coordinate and some times lead programs and events that involve culture for our community. I also organize some workshops so that we can practice our traditional ways. I will also be involved in a lot of other programs that need cultural support when needed. 

Personally I feel my purpose in life is to help heal my friends and family in and outside of our community. I believe the best way is to know and be proud of our own identity as shishalh people. That means knowing and practicing our culture and traditions as much as possible. As well as knowing our history. Staying connected to our ancestors for guidance.

One of my biggest goals is to get our people back up the inlet in our canoes where our ancestors are from. 

?úlnúmsh chálap (Thank you everyone)

Harlan Pruden, (pronouns, anything said mindfully and respectfully) is a proud member of the Cree Nation, or nēhiyo in Cree, and works with the Two-Spirit community locally, nationally and internationally. 

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Harlan's mother was a member of the Beaver Lake Reservation and father a member of the Whitefish Lake Band, both located in northeastern Alberta – Treaty 6 territory. After living in New York for 20 years, Harlan moved to Vancouver and now lives, works and plays on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territories of the Coast Salish peoples, specifically the shared territories of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), Stó:lō, and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations.

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Currently, Harlan is the Indigenous Knowledge Translation & Research Lead at Chee Mamuk, an Indigenous health program at British Columbia Centre for Disease Control, and is also a co-founder and Principal Investigator of the Two-Spirit Dry Lab (TwoSpiritDryLab.ca), Turtle Island's first research group that exclusively focuses on Two-Spirit people, communities and/or experiences. Harlan is a Ph.D. student at Simon Fraser University and is working to understand how (and if) Two-Spirit facilitates access to health information and well-being for Indigenous sexual and gender minority peoples and/or communities. Harlan is also an Advisory Member for the Canadian Institutes of Health Research’s Institute of Gender and Health.

Before moving to Vancouver, Harlan was co-founder and Director of New York City's NorthEast Two-Spirit Society and served as the principal Two-Spirit consultant to the US' Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's Tribal Training and Technical Assistance Center. Harlan was a member of the United States Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS (PACHA) where Harlan provided advice, information, and recommendations to the Secretary of Health & Human Services and the White House from 2014 to 2018.

My name is Yvette Muskego. I am Saulteaux and Cree from Treaty 4, Kinistin Saulteaux Nation, Saskatchewan. I am born and raised in the lower mainland, on a mission to learn my heritage. I began canoeing with Pulling Together in 2007. Started as a youth with Collingwood Canoe Family. These annual journeys have created a huge impact on my cultural aspect of life; as I was not raised to know traditional teachings, songs or protocols. It has strengthened my patience, community, independence and overall, I have gained a family. I am honored to continue my journey in life by being a part of the PTCS, practicing ceremonies and networking with our people across Turtle Island. 

éy swáyel (good day)

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Stephen Armstrong, also known as Xem-Tu-Mus, is an Elder and Knowledge Keeper from Kwikwetlem First Nation located near the Tri-Cities of the Lower Mainland of BC. The Tri-Cities includes the Municipalities of Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam & Port Moody.

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Stephen is the sole owner of Red Sockeye Consulting Inc which was created in 2023 for the purpose of providing Cultural Consultation within the traditional territory of Kwikwetlem First Nation. This quickly expanded to provide presentations via power point with a lunch & learn workshop related to Colonial Effects, Cultural Sensitivity & Humility Training and a new training session related to Trauma Informed Care, Indigenous Focused and a review of the 6 principals.

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Previous experience as an Archeological Gurdian, working with Kwikwetlem, local Municipalities and several construction companies is what has inspired Stephen to create the company and begin a journey to work with the inspiration to help create ideas to begin the journey of Reconciliation with positive thoughts and a good heart.

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Stephen began his journey to learn about his culture in 1993. Prior to this, Stephen was raised mostly off reserve and was never given the opportunity to be exposed to or learn his Cultural Teachings. He continues to share and to learn the cultural ways with his village and traveling to many villages to learn and share the wonderful aspects of what his culture is.

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Stephen is strongly committed to working with and providing opportunities to build relationships and partnerships between his village of Kwikwetlem and the local surrounding area.

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c̓∙iθamə cən (thank you)

Bio to come...