She/Her

N’alag̱a / Kaaw Kuuna (Avis O’Brien), a Haida/Kwakwa̱ka’wakw artist and Land-Based Cultural Empowerment Facilitator, was born in Alert Bay, BC. She belongs to the Kaa’was Staa’stas Eagle Clan from the Village of K’yuusda in Haida Gwaii and the Giga̱l’ǥa̱m Namima of the Lig̱wiłda’x̱w people from Cape Mudge, one of the 18 Tribes of the Kwakwaka’wakw.

N’alag̱a is a weaver, teacher, singer, dancer, and land-based cultural empowerment facilitator. She started her company N’alag̱a Consulting in 2013 as a way to share the cultural knowledge and beauty of cedar bark weaving with the world. Cedar bark weaving has been her connection to the rich culture of the Haida and Kwakwa̱ka̱’wakw, and has also been a doorway for her into cultural empowerment facilitation. Cedar bark weaving has been part of the culture of the peoples of the Northwest Coast for thousands of years; it was and continues to be an integral part of the culture. Her jewelry, baskets, and hats represent an important continuation of the ancient legacy of Northwest Coast woven adornment. Avis fuses age-old techniques with modern style to create products that can be shared with the world.

Avis offers Community Land-Based Healing Workshops that are rooted in Decolonization, Reconciliation, Indigenous Land-Based Healing and Breath & Embodiment Practices. Her work aims to highlight the intersectionality of Colonialism, Impacts of trauma, Indian Act, residential schools and how we can utilize Ancestral forms of healing to regain a sense of balance and harmony in body, mind, and spirit. Drumming, singing, dancing, medicine harvesting, ceremony, weaving, breath & embodiment practices are utilized as self regulation tools, guiding folks down the path of neurdecolonization. Her work within Non-Indigenous communities has a focus on building Allyship and dismantling racist stereotypes against Indigenous folks.

The name N’alag̱a comes from the Kwakwak’wakw peoples of the Northwest Coast and was placed on her through her Giga̱l’ǥa̱m Namima’s Treasure Box. N’alag̱a means Bringer of Daylight or Woman of Light in Kwak’wala. This name has been passed down in her family for generations. Avis has an important responsibility when carrying this name: to carry herself in a way in which reflects sharing her light with the world.

The name Kaaw Kuuna translates to One Who Sits Great in Xaad Kil, language of the Haida Peoples. She is preserving her culture and traditions as a way to fulfill her social and cultural responsibilities of her traditional names, and doing her best to make her Haida & Lig̱wiłda’x̱w Ancestors Proud in the ways she carriers herself in the world.