Whether we know it or not, we’re all telling stories all the time. It’s how we come to understand each other, ourselves, and the world we live in. I tend to use “storyteller” rather than “writer” for a few reasons, the most important being that not all my work centers on the written word.

These degrees have to go to some use, right? In all seriousness, I think of scholarship as a very broad practice, and pursuing knowledge has never been limited to the confines of settler academic institutions. If I ever stop being curious, I’ll stop calling myself a scholar.

I think it’s important to remember that we all change, both in our work and who we are. I’m not necessarily proud of every piece I’ve ever written, both in terms of content and quality, but that means that I’m growing and changing in my work and in my thinking.

The Mohegan language does not contain gendered pronouns. While I generally identify with being a woman, the way that the gender and sex binaries play out in Western society don’t reflect the true intricacies of those concepts. As such, I find freedom in using a non-gendered pronoun, as it loosens the grip of these binaries and connects me with my language.