Khelsilem Tl’aḵwasiḵ̓an Sxwchálten (born July 19, 1989), also known as Dustin Rivers, is an

Indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology), presence in a region as the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention *Indigenous (band), an American blues-rock band *Indigenous (horse), a Hong Kong racehorse ...

Canadian politician and

First Nations First Nations or first peoples may refer to: * Indigenous peoples, for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area. Indigenous groups *First Nations is commonly used to describe some Indigenous groups including: **First Natio ...

leader in British Columbia. He is serving his first term as councillor for the

Squamish Nation The Squamish Nation, Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw () in Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Sníchim (Squamish language), is an Indian Act government originally imposed on the Squamish (''Sḵwx̱wú7mesh'') by the Federal Government of Canada in the late 19th cen ...

Council. The youngest Councillor elected in the 2017 election, he topped the polls with the most votes and was appointed as one of two Official Spokespersons for the Squamish Nation Council. He serves on numerous Council committees including Finance & Audit, Governance, Human Resources, and chair the Planning & Capital Projects Committee, and deputy chair for the Rights & Title Committee and Climate Action Task Force. A frequent critic of LNG projects and the Trans Mountain Pipeline Expansion Project, Khelsilem was recognized by Vancouver Magazine as one of the top 50 powerful people at #23 in 2018, and again in 2019 at #19. On February 25, 2020, Khelsilem was interviewed by Linda Steele on

Global News Global News is the news and current affairs division of the Canadian Global Television Network. The network is owned by Corus Entertainment, which oversees all of the network's national news programming as well as local news on its 21 owned-and ...

Radio about the anger and confusion around recent protests and blockades in support of Wet'suwet'en Nation.

Personal life and education

Khelsilem is

Sḵwx̱wú7mesh The Squamish people ( Squamish: ''Skwxwú7mesh'' , historically transliterated as Sko-ko-mish) are an indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest Coast. Archaeological evidence shows they have lived in the area for more than a thousand years. In 2 ...

on his mom and father's side of the family, and Kwakwaka’wakw on his mother's side. He was raised in the Squamish Nation communities of Eslhá7an, also known as the Mission Indian Reserve No.6, and Xwmelch’stn, also known as

Capilano Indian Reserve No.5 Capilano may refer to: Institutions * Capilano University, North Vancouver * Capilano RFC, a rugby union club in British Columbia Landmarks * Capilano Lake, North Vancouver * Capilano Mall, North Vancouver * Capilano River, North Vancouver * Cap ...

, in North Vancouver, British Columbia. He lives in the City of

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

. He attended

Carson Graham Secondary School Carson Graham Secondary is a public high school in the city of North Vancouver, British Columbia and part of School District 44 North Vancouver. History The school opened September 15, 1965, and is named after Dr. Carson Graham. In 2009, Car ...

and some graduate degree classes at

Simon Fraser University Simon Fraser University (SFU) is a public research university in British Columbia, Canada, with three campuses, all in Greater Vancouver: Burnaby (main campus), Surrey, and Vancouver. The main Burnaby campus on Burnaby Mountain, located from ...

in Applied Linguistics. Before entering politics Khelsilem was a graphic designer and artist, with public art featured in Vancouver Mural Fest. In 2014 Khelsilem presented about his work to reduce the decline of Squamish language at Interesting Vancouver. Khelsilem is a fluent

Squamish language Squamish (; ', ''sníchim'' meaning "language") is a Coast Salish language spoken by the Squamish people of the Pacific Northwest. It is spoken in the area that is now called southwestern British Columbia, Canada, centred on their reserve commun ...

speaker which he learned as an adult. In 2015, he founded the non-profit Kwi Awt Stelmexw, an arts & education organization with the mission to restore

and culture. and in 2016 developed a language immersion program with

to teach the

Squamish people The Squamish people (Squamish language, Squamish: ''Skwxwú7mesh'' , historically transliterated as Sko-ko-mish) are an Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast, indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest Coast. Archaeological evidence sh ...

. He continued to teach for two years in the program he built before leaving the program upon being elected to the Squamish Nation Council. In July 2019, Khelsilem publicly came out as a member of the LGBTQ2+ community and identifies as bisexual and queer.

Political career

In the 2017 Squamish Nation Election, he coordinated a campaign called ’the New Nine’ to elect nine non-incumbent candidates to the Squamish Nation Council. Out of the nine candidates promoted, eight were eventually elected. As a Councillor, he has been involved in various projects and initiatives like the developing a not-for-profit housing society, the Integrated North Shore Transportation Planning Project, and the purpose built rental and condo development project with Westbank on the Squamish Nation's

Senakw () or (), rendered in English as Snawk, Snawq, Sneawq, or Snawkw, is a village site of the Indigenous Squamish people, located near what is now known as the Kitsilano neighbourhood of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. In 1869 the Colonial Go ...

lands, also known as the

Kitsilano Kitsilano () is a neighbourhood located in the city of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Kitsilano is named after Squamish chief August Jack Khatsahlano, and the neighbourhood is located in Vancouver's West Side along the south shore of Engli ...

Reserve next to

Burrard Street Bridge The Burrard Street Bridge (sometimes referred to as the Burrard Bridge) is a four-lane, Art Deco style, steel truss bridge constructed in 1930–1932 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The high, five part bridge on four piers spans Fal ...

References

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External links

Official website
Indigenous leaders in British Columbia First Nations politicians LGBT First Nations people Bisexual male politicians Queer men Living people Canadian bisexual people Canadian LGBT politicians 1989 births