Rufus the Mayus

Carrying the name U’maga̱lis from her late grandmother, Keisha Everson is from the Gigal’ga̱m ‘Walas Kwaguł of the Kwakwaka̱’wakw and a member of the K’omoks First Nation (Pentl’ach and Sahtloot tribes) with ancestral ties to the Tlingit of Tongas Valley (Alaska) and Europe, particularly the Netherlands. For the past 10 years Keisha has had a deepening passion for learning and teaching Kwaka̱wala, the first language of her grandmother, Mary Everson (U’maga̱lis wa̱łe’), who recently passed. She is being trained to step into her grandma’s cultural matriarch role. Keisha finished a Masters’ of Education in Indigenous Language Revitalization in 2020. This is her first book. Keisha lives in Comox B.C. Canada.