In the introduction of her book This Place is Who We Are, author Katherine Palmer Gordon explains that the work “is a collection of stories celebrating not only connections to homelands and connections to Indigenous leadership, but the ways in which Indigenous peoples are continuing and reviving ancestral practices, the stewardship, and building both environmental and human well being based on those practices and showing the rest of the world the potential for a better future for all of us.”
Palmer Gordon’s book is a collection of ten of these inspiring stories. X̱aayda voices explain how their Rediscovery camps are healing and empowering their youth; Dzawada̱’enuxw Hereditary Chief Maxwiyalidizi K’odi Nelson shares the story of building a healing centre and ecolodge; Wei Wai Kum Chief Christopher Roberts describes the challenges and opportunities for an urban First Nation looking to prosper while protecting the ancient Ligʷiłdaxʷ history and living cultural values. Other inspiring Indigenous leaders share their experiences of growth, strenth, and reconnection.