UNYA
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Leila Williams, President
Huddih, Sigh sew zeh’ Leila Williams, Wit’suwet’en tsa ked dees zitd from Witset B.C. (Hello, My name is Leila Williams, I am Wit’suwet’en descent from Witset B.C). Leila has been a part of the UNYA community since 2004, beginning her journey as a youth participant, later joining the team as a staff, and ultimately becoming…
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André Bessette, Vice President
André Bessette is a grateful visitor to the ancestral lands of the Tsawwassen, Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh Nations since his birth. His roots are mixed settler of French and Croatian as well as Métis from the Red River Settlement on the ancestral territories of Anishinaabe and Néhiyaw Nations where Treaty 1 and 2 lay. As…
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Laura Beaudry, Treasurer
Laura is Cree and Métis and a member of the Kapawe’no First Nation in Grouard, Alberta. She graduated from UBC with a BA in Anthropology (2019) and a Juris Doctor (2022). After graduation, Laura worked for the Union of BC Indian Chiefs, and she is now completing her law articles in Vancouver.
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Mentorship
Become a Mentor. Change a Life. Looking to make a difference? UNYA offers two volunteer mentorship opportunities that connect Indigenous youth with supportive, consistent role models: the Mentorship Program (ages 12–15) and Kinnections Program (ages 16–18). As a mentor, you’ll spend 2–4 hours each week with a young person for at least one year—building trust,…
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Atheana Picha (Kwantlen)
“Portal” I read somewhere “The veil thins at the loom” and thought about how special my loom is to me when it is warped up. It feels like a place between worlds where I can connect with weavers from thousands of years before me as I twist fibres together and weave them into something reborn,…
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Steve Smith (Wuikinuxv/Kwakwaka’wakw)
“Shifter of Shapes” Sometimes a transformation can be so profoundly complete it becomes unrecognizable. Is the box the Raven or did the Raven turn into the box? Both are and always have been one. Back to Bentwood Box Auction 2025
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Phil Gray (Ts’msyen/Cree)
“awta: buyer beware” This is a visual representation of my current emotional availability. Back to Bentwood Box Auction 2025
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KC Hall (Heiltsuk) and Copper Canoe Woman (Nuu-chah-nulth/Heiltsuk)
“The Echo Box” This piece is my vision of a vessel; a place where the real songs of our people and the deep stories of the past are held. That formline figure isn’t just sitting there. It’s alive. Its mouth is open, releasing that ancestral energy, that echo. The abalone inlay – that’s the spirit,…
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Jade Hanuse (Nuxalk/Wuikinuxv/Kwakwaka’wakw)
“Between Worlds” This bentwood box carries the breath of ancestral memory. It is a vessel for story, spirit, and song. The Raven embodies ancient knowledge and reminds us that wisdom moves through both seen and unseen realms. Carved upside down, Raven speaks from the spirit side, representing our ancestors who continue to guide us beyond…
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Corrine Hunt (Kwakwaka’wakw/Tlingit)
“It’s the Crack Where the Light Goes” The crack. Where the light gets in. Colouring outside the lines. The artist as an adultchild roams outside the boundaries of formline sparking interest in an adventure that unfolds through play. For the youth. We play. Back to Bentwood Box Auction 2025