Napatsi Folger
Napatsi Folger is an Inuk artist and writer originally from Iqaluit, Nunavut, currently living and working in North Vancouver, BC. She graduated from the University of British Columbia in 2021 with an MFA in Creative Writing with a focus in graphic forms and fiction. Her published works include numerous magazine articles and academic essays, as well as Joy of Apex (Inhabit Media, 2011), a middle-grade YA book about growing up in the Arctic.
What she loves best about writing is telling stories that her people can relate to because she did not see herself in literature until she was 19 years old and read a book about an Indigenous teenager for a first-year English course. Folger has since shifted her creative focus to comics, which she feels is a versatile medium to tell stories. Folger also holds the Tauttunnguaqti position at the Inuit Art Foundation, where she is in charge of the creative vision for the Inuit Art Quarterly.
Selina Boan
Selina Boan is a white settler-nehiyaw (Cree) writer and educator living on the traditional, unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), səl̓ilwətaɁɬ (Tsleil-waututh), and sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) peoples. Her debut poetry collection, Undoing Hours, won the 2022 Pat Lowther Memorial Award and the Indigenous Voices Award for Published Poetry in English. Her work has been published widely, including The Best Canadian Poetry 2018 and 2020. She is a poetry editor for CV2 Magazine and a beadwork artist.
Selina is a passionate educator and believes learning requires the exploration of identity in relationship to how we are connected to one another, to the community, and to the land. Her teaching philosophy centres on fostering a learning space that celebrates who students are, where they come from, and the unique perspectives, stories, and ideas they bring to a learning space. She is thrilled to be joining KPU for the next several months and looks forward to meeting you!
Richard Pierre
Richard Pierre, Sdemokeltel, is from Katzie First Nation on his father's side and Tsawout First Nation on his mother's side. Richard is an Elder and Cultural Advisor at Len Pierre Consulting. He enjoys sharing traditional Coast Salish family values, culture, beliefs, history, language, and contemporary issues.
Richard has over 20 years of experience working in the education sector, including public K-12, university, and professional training programs. He is passionate about making reconciliation a reality in this country and looks forward to helping the next generation transition into "walking together" like we should have been doing all along.