All We Are is Story

Siy Leona Prince sadnee. Lhts'umusyoo tl'a Likh Tsa Mis Yu habilh dzees zilh. Lusilyoo haba dza gel dzut. Sne' Joyce Prince tl'a Sbeb Gordon Barfoot habatnee. Siskak tahnee zeh'indzin. Syez Kobe, Ella tl'a Ava habatnee.

Lamaliyaz isleeh. Sk'iy Shawn Abraham hayilhnee.

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I have always had a love for traditional and contemporary stories. The two most prominent storytellers in my life were my Sakiy (Great-Aunt) Catherine Caldwell and my Stseets (Grandfather) John Barfoot. When I was a little girl, each of them would weave stories from the two cultures that I descend from. Those stories were fantastical, filled with teachings, and always left me in awe. It wasn't just the content of the stories that kept me captivated, but the manner in which they told them. I believed every word that they spoke because they believed that they were entirely true. My Aunt wove beautiful stories from my Dakelh history that spoke of our creation as a people. My favourite story was How the Trees Got Their Markings. At one point in our history, trees moved freely about! You can imagine my delight, when much later, I seen this come to life watching the Lord of the Rings trilogy. My grandfather would speak about Irish history and there was never a doubt in my mind that he fully believed in faeries, leprechauns and the luck of the shamrock, to name a few. Then, I discovered Roald Dahl and I was taken away to a land of mischief and chocolate. I must have read Charlie and the Chocolate Factory a hundred times. From a young age, I understood the power of story.