Learn about the First Nations Storytellers in Residence

2009 First Nations Storyteller in Residence:
Amanda Nahanee

Amanda Nahanee, whose ancestral name is Shamantsut, is the Library’s inaugural First Nations Storyteller in Residence. She is a descendant and cultural ambassador of the Squamish and Nisga’a Nations.

Amanda is well versed in Coast Salish language, mythology, history, rites and rituals, protocols and village sites. She has also spent extensive time researching and documenting Vancouver’s history and rich diversity of cultures and has addressed national and international gatherings from academic conferences to community events. Her experience at home and abroad has introduced her to a wealth of storytellers, elders, musicians and artists from various nations.

Amanda’s formal training and traditional knowledge will showcase the Squamish and Nisga'a Nations and her broad experience bridges Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal communities. She is excited to be sharing stories of mythology and historical events from her culture that only recently began to emerge beyond the First Nations community.

2010 First Nations Storyteller in Residence:
Jackie Timothy

Jackie Timothy is a storyteller, cultural presenter and master carver from the Sliammon First Nation near Powell River. Sharing the ancestral name La-Sah with his brother, he descends from the Hereditary Chief lineage of his village and his grandparents identified him as a traditional storyteller.

Jackie is also a residential school survivor. When he was four years old he was taken to the Sechelt Indian Residential School. However, because he already identified strongly with his culture and retained his grandparents’ advice to “remember who you are and where you are from”, he endured residential school and succeeded through very difficult times.

Today, Jackie shares his profound gift for traditional storytelling with children, youth and adults of all cultures and ages. The stories handed down to him through generations of his Coast Salish heritage are largely unknown outside his culture.

“Storytelling is at the heart of who I am,” Jackie explained. “It is a privilege to be able to mentor and encourage other storytellers and to share my cultural heritage with everyone at the Library.”

2011 First Nations Storyteller in Residence:
Henry Charles

Henry Charles is the last surviving member of the Musqueam Nation to have lived in what is today the endowment lands adjacent to the University of British Columbia. After his parents and siblings moved to the Musqueam Reservation, Mr. Charles remained living in the wooded area with his grandparents for five years.

Today, Mr. Charles is a Native historian, official Musqueam speaker and Aboriginal greeter. His Musqueam name is tecelgen, which translates as porcupine.

Mr. Charles has welcomed numerous visitors and dignitaries to traditional Musqueam territories speaking his native language. These have included athletes and dignitaries from the 2010 Winter Games as an official greeter at the opening of the Games’ Aboriginal Pavilion. Mr. Charles has also led welcoming ceremonies for Vancouver Mayors Larry Campbell, Sam Sullivan and Gregor Robertson, for the President of Portugal, the Governor of Alaska and for acclaimed scientist, writer and broadcaster David Suzuki.