Kwikwetlem First Nation
Cassandra Harper is an experienced environmental project lead specializing in referrals and stewardship, currently working at Kwikwetlem First Nation since June 2021, where Cassandra has also held roles as a senior project coordinator and project coordinator. Previously, Cassandra served as a project intern at the same organization, contributing to a riparian restoration plan in response to the Trans Mountain development on the Brunette River. Prior to this, Cassandra worked as a server at Freehouse Collective from June 2016 to November 2023 and held positions as a bank teller and receptionist at Lakeview Credit Union between May 2013 and May 2016. Educational qualifications include a Master of Science in Ecological Restoration from Simon Fraser University and the British Columbia Institute of Technology, as well as a Bachelor of Science in Natural Resources/Conservation from The University of British Columbia.
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Kwikwetlem First Nation
The kʷikʷəƛ̓əm people are the First Peoples of the Coquitlam Watershed in British Columbia. Archaeology findings have confirmed continuous occupation of ancestral lands for at least 10,000 years, since the last ice age. The Cities of Coquitlam and Port Coquitlam take their name after our people. The kʷikʷəƛ̓əm people are descended from ancestors who were renowned spirit and winter dancers, skilled canoe builders, and master sturgeon and salmon fishers. The rich culture and history of the kʷikʷəƛ̓əm people is based on ancient Coast Salish laws and protocols which granted us the responsibility to govern our territory in accordance with our customary laws. Our land is central to every aspect of their life, and today, as in the past, we are guided by teachings to responsibly use and care for our lands, waters and all that is above and below. kʷikʷəƛ̓əm draw our name “Red Fish Up the River” from an early spring sockeye salmon run that once flourished in the Coquitlam River and that sustained our people for food for thousands of years before the Coquitlam Dam was built. Our name reflects the strong connection our people have always had to our community and the lands and waters which surround us and that have sustained us for thousands of years. We draw our sovereignty from the Creator, the siʔém̓ x̌é∙l̕s (transformers), and šxʷʔə́y̓ə́m (deep-time histories), which granted us the responsibility to govern our territory in accordance with our customary laws which are based on Coast Salish traditions. We honour all lands and beings, sustenance and spiritual, that live within, rely upon, and migrate through our territory.