‘Uy’ Skweyul siiem nu’ siiye / good day my honoured friends and relatives. My traditional name is Sulatiye’ and my English name is Maiya Modeste. My parents are Brianna Thorne and Chris Modeste. On my Father’s side my grandparents are late Wes Modeste and Diane Modeste (nee Seymour) and on my Mother’s side my grandparents are Deb George (nee Nash) and my biological grandfather is Ken Thorne, however I have had the honour of growing up with my grandfather Ron George. I come from the village of Quamichan in Quw’utsun.  

 Throughout my life I have always had a special place in my heart for nature. I grew up walking the many trails in Cowichan with my grandparents, learning about our natural “grocery stores” and what they had to offer. My grandparents planted many seeds of passion in me from a very young age. This passion manifests in many different ways now, such as in the way I show up for the land, for culture, our elders and for the generations to come. I am eternally grateful for the experiences that my family has gifted me especially, considering just two generations ago growing up with culture and access to our natural world was illegal.  

 I work with the Stqeeye’ Learning Society as the Project Coordinator of the P’hwulhp (Garry Oak) Restoration Project which has been my grandmothers dream for me since I was a child. My hope for this garden is to create an accessible space for Indigenous folks to learn about, harvest from and interact with the diversity and the increasing rarity of native food systems. I have the honour of working in and around the village of Xwaaqw’um. During my time here, I have been given the space and encouragement to learn more about myself, my culture, ancestry, and what is truly means to have a relationship with the land. As an indigenous woman I feel that it is my inherent responsibility to take care of the land as my ancestors have since time immemorial and to revitalize our once thriving food systems. It is my hope and dream to one day see youth harvesting from Xwaaqw’um.