Read the full transcript of Isiah’s interview below.
Can you tell me a bit about who you are and where you’re from?
To start, my name is Isiah Desjarlais, my mother Corinne, Coast Salish from W̱JOȽEȽP. I don’t have any connection to my father’s side and for a large portion of my youth life, I grew up in a house with my grandparents, my mother and my uncle, so really my connection is closer to my grandmother, my grandparents, and being from Tsartlip, and my grandfather who’s Métis from Winnipeg. I grew up off the traditional territories but in the early parts of my life, I remember my family being quite involved with the community and community events and gatherings, which I’m extremely grateful to have been a part of, especially from a young age, but as I got older, I kind of peeled back from that, especially through high school and stuff, but now I’m finding myself drawn back to the community which is really exciting for me.
Could you share some of the background and experience you bring to this position?
So, my journey post-high-school, post-graduation, I struggled with direction, as a lot of people do. I had the opportunity to travel internationally for sport climbing while I was competing and I got to experience many different cultures. I got to explore and push my comfort zone and in that time, I found a lot of self-growth.
I took a few years to build up the courage to go back to post-secondary. I initially went to Camosun to do a Kines degree or start that and I got a year into the program and I was like, “This is not for me.” I did not enjoy anatomy. I got it after three classes but it was not for me. Then I transferred into Marketing and I did that for maybe 2 and a half years and I think I just got burnt out of the program, at least at Camosun and then Royal Roads was offering a new program in Innovation and Sustainability and it was a completely project-based program, there were no exams, and I was like, “This is great, this is what I need.” So I got into that program and I got a bunch of experience working with real clients, which was awesome. There were definitely many mental breakdowns in that program but it was a good experience nonetheless.
After my graduation, I got onboarded by Christina Clarke at the Indigenous Prosperity Centre as the Research Coordinator, and I transitioned into Project Coordinator, and it was honestly a great place for me to really start my career. She gave me a really soft landing and gently pushed my boundaries with everything.
While I was doing my degree at Royal Roads, I had the ambition to come back to Tsartlip and support the community. While on paper, the move from IPC to Tsartlip was lateral, I kind of knew that I’d be challenged in a different way in this role and that’s really exciting and motivating for me.
What kind of work will you be doing with Tsartlip?
So my job title is project coordinator and my role is to provide support in the coordination of various Tsartlip projects, resource development teams and developing and maintaining relationships with project partners. A lot of these projects aim to support community development, whether that looks like building infrastructure to support the Nation’s activities or it could look like a research project that looks at gaps or needs of the Nation in the initial stages of a new project.
Another component of my job is supporting negotiation processes with partners as part of Tsartlip’s internal negotiation team and I’m really excited to work with Adam as well. So those are my primary duties that fall outside of the more admin duties of a Project Coordinator’s job.
What kind of impact do you hope to have during your time at Tsartlip?
My hope or vision is to continue to see Tsartlip grow and develop in a way that the people want to see it grow. You know, I want to see the Nation continue to build economic autonomy and I want to see the culture and the values continue to be woven into the fabric of that and into Tsartlip admin’s organizational structure.
I want to see our Nation recognized as changemakers in the process of reconciliation and it’s important to me to see the vibrancy, energy, excitement and passion in the homes of our people.
What do you like to do outside of work?
Outside of work, I spend a lot of time with my partner. We have two dogs, she has a big giant Golden Retriever and I have a Cattle dog/German Shepherd, so we go on lots of little adventures, lots of big adventures.
A big part of my life is sport climbing. I’ve kind of been involved in the sport now for 15 years I think but I used to compete a lot when I was younger and it’s still a huge part of my life. I spend 10 or so, 10 or 12 hours a week training. On top of that, I enjoy cycling and mountain biking.
I do have a really strong appreciation for academics now, as much as I was not a good student growing up. With that, I’m going back to school for Indigenous Economic Development as a graduate certificate, which will ladder me into my Master’s which is really cool.
And then more in-the-house hobbies, I really enjoy board games and lego.
Is there anything else you’d like to share with the community?
I recognize that I grew up off the traditional territories and I recognize the limitations that has. While I think I come with a lot of knowledge, there’s also a lot of traditional knowledge that I haven’t had access to or the opportunity to be in exposure to. I’m eager and willing to learn and make mistakes and I’m sure I’ll be told that that’s part of it.
