Spotlight: COINS Aboriginal Community Health Team

Tansi, I carry Cree-Métis ancestry through my maternal line, with roots in Treaty 8 territory (Northern Alberta). Though my family comes from the North, we moved to the West Kootenays when I was an infant. After years of travel and study, I chose to return to the Kootenays to raise my own family.

I hold a degree in Kinesiology from UBC and spent over a decade working in health promotion and physical rehabilitation. While that work was deeply meaningful, the pandemic became a turning point – guiding me toward the path I now walk, which I truly believe is where I’m meant to be.

I’ve been with COINS since 2020, serving as the first person in this role and helping to establish and grow the program. Over this time, I’ve developed a strong passion for cultural safety, leading to the creation of the Cultural Safety Talking Circles, KBCulturalSafety.org, and a variety of other cultural safety resources for health care professionals in our region.

My work is grounded in community, connection, and culture, and I feel honoured to contribute to the health and well-being of Aboriginal peoples living in the West Kootenay area.

Outside of work, I’m happily married with two energetic young boys. Together, we find joy in the outdoors – camping, mountain biking, canoeing, skiing, and exploring the beauty of the land we call home.

I am of mixed ancestry – Interior Salish and Scottish on my mother’s side, and Scottish on my father’s side. Though I grew up outside Edmonton, I was drawn to the mountains and a simpler life in the Kootenays, where I now raise my children.

With over a decade in Aboriginal health and early childhood development, I founded a culturally grounded preschool program and worked as an Aboriginal Consultation Specialist, supporting Aboriginal community engagement on land and environmental projects. My academic background in neuroscience and nutrition shapes my approach to care.

Since 2024, I have worked with COINS as the Aboriginal Patient Navigator, advocating for culturally safe health care and integrating cultural support into care plans. Though I’m filling in for a maternity leave, I’m honoured to support families on their wellness journeys.

In my spare time, I enjoy swimming, paddle boarding, snowboarding, crafting, and harvesting – practices that keep me grounded and connected to the land.

I am of mixed ancestry – my mother brings me Cree and Italian, and my father brings me German. I was born and raised in Alberta. I have been blessed to call Grand Forks my home for the last 16 years. It was my lovely husband who brought me this way – this is where his roots are. I couldn’t ask for a better place to raise our two beautiful children!

In the earlier parts of my upbringing, my culture was still somewhat active. Being close to my grandmother, a residential school survivor, there were bits and pieces she would share with me. It was a beautiful time. I loved hearing her speak Cree to close family and other relatives, and I held onto some words as I grew up. When I was quite young, we moved far away from my Nation and never went back – but I still have many relatives I connect with back home.

In 2023, I was given the opportunity to hold the role of the Aboriginal Health Coordinator in the Boundary. Working for COINS has been an amazing journey, and every day I find myself learning more and more about my culture and taking on those traditional and cultural beliefs that I didn’t have the chance to practice while growing up.

In our spare time, my family and I enjoy dirt biking, swimming in the river, kayaking, hiking, and road trips. We grow a large garden and live very close to the mountains and river, so we live off the land as much as possible. We harvest as a family, and there is much appreciation for the abundance we receive. I feel a close connection to the land and our beautiful Mother Earth.

~ All My Relations