In this episode, I interview ƛ̓akʷapiqa, Lelaina Jules, District Principal, Indigenous Education for Comox Valley Schools.

Lelaina carries the ancestral name ƛ̓akʷapiqa, loosely translated to "copper on top," and also goes by Lelaina Jules. She is a proud Nuu-chah-nulth woman (she/her) from the Hesquiaht First Nation, one of the fourteen Nuu-chah-nulth Nations located on the west coast of Vancouver Island, BC, Canada. Her father, Steve, is Hesquiaht through his father Stephen Sr., and Ahousaht through his mother Jean. On her mother Karen's side, Lelaina carries Danish and Estonian ancestry.

Raised in Hot Springs Cove on the Hesquiaht Indian Reserve, Lelaina's early experiences continue to shape her values, worldview, and commitment to upholding Indigenous knowledge systems. She currently lives and works in the unceded territories of the Pentlatch, E'ikʷsən, Sahtloot, and Sasitla Peoples, and offers her deep gratitude—ƛ̓eekoo ƛ̓eekoo.

Lelaina holds a Master of Education in Educational Leadership, a Bachelor of Education, and a Bachelor of Arts with minors in Indigenous Studies and Anthropology. These academic pathways have strengthened her dedication to Indigenous education, leadership, and the revitalization of Indigenous knowledge systems.

As a mother, sister, daughter, auntie, cousin, friend, learner, and teacher, Lelaina brings a relational and holistic approach to her work. Grounded in Indigenous ways of knowing and being, she strives to nurture spaces of belonging, uphold cultural integrity, and walk alongside communities of teachers and learners in the spirit of respect, reciprocity, and resurgence.

It was an honour to interview her for Small Fires.