Boozhoo

About Me

Kai nindizhinikaas! (Hello, I’m Kai!)

I’m a half Ojibwe & half Irish woman from Wabigoon Lake Ojibwe Nation, now living in the mountains of British Columbia with my loving husband. I lived most of my teens and twenties Winnipeg, MB and most of pre-16 in Thunder Bay, On.

At that time access to language and tradition was limited due to colonialism. The particularly vivid impacts of genocide and intergenerational trauma in that region are alive and well today, woven deep in the people and systems in the city.

As an adult I’m trying to find my roots, writing about my journey helps me explore knowledge, learn and grow as a person. My goal is to work on my writing practice so that one day I can complete my book, that book will be my gift to indigenous youth as well as anyone else who needs it. My hope is that it will be something people read and connect with, to give them understanding of the history, the impacts of colonialism and perspective on their resilience and potential, to give hope.

I’ve always loved stories because they feed us, they grow our minds, they nourish our spirits and they give us insight into other lived perspectives. I love to read and to listen to people speak about what matters to them. I also love to write, both to make sense of what’s happening around me, to explore interest in depth and more recently to connect with our Anishinaabe language and history.

My prized hobby is exploring mountains and capturing the moments, they’re a vital part of my life and I’m thankful to have the privilege of experiencing them first-hand. There will be a dedicated section to share those under my portfolio called Mountains. I am NOT a photographer, these are not top quality photos but they capture some of the beauty well enough to share along side information about the history, natural features and lessons they’ve taught me.

When I’m not in the mountains, working or writing - I’m either reading, at the gym, biking, paddling, climbing, shooting my bow or planning and preparing meals with my husband. I work in tech as a manager along side an incredible team of intelligent people. Outside of work I am interested in what technology can do for language and cultural studies, there is also a low-key finance nerd side of me too, but there are enough spaces out there for that so I’ll (likely) leave it off here.

This site is where I gather my experiences and the things I’ve learned, so they can at worst be a memory to look back on or at best, be a resource for some one else.

** I’ll try to use Anishinaabemowin as much as possible in the language and medicine as I learn it, however I am very novice and spelling seems to vary based on region - please if you notice an error, let me know! I’m happy to hear it