Dugi dzenes ho-ti'e (Its a good day)
Es-zi'e Kailea Loften (My name is Kailea Loften)
I am a mother of Tahltan, Kaska, and Black American ancestry. I grew up off the grid, down a long dirt road, on a ridge line that overlooked the Pacific Ocean.
During my earliest years, my parents owned a small postal shop that also served as an independent bookstore and recording studio. My siblings and I were raised to worship books, music, and the land we lived on. I will be forever imprinted by long days spent reading and the quality that only quiet spaces can bring out in us.
I carry within me a keen sense of observation, the ability to hear the quietest voice in a room, and a deep respect for the winds, rains, and other elements that remind us of how small our human bodies are.
Growing up in a multiracial family gifted me the ability to hold multiplicity. My passion lies in honoring the nuance and complexity that each of us carries and in supporting capacity building for bridging across social and political divides.
My living prayer is that we will reach back towards each other again.
Curriculum vitae
Editor, Loam Publication, 2019 - Present
Community Publisher, NDN Collective, 2023 - 2024
Climate Justice Organizer, NDN Collective, 2021 - 2022
Petaluma Climate Commissioner, 2019 - 2022
Editing Fellow, The Center for Humans and Nature, 2023
EJ Creative Disruption Fellow, The Tishman Institute, 2021 - 2023
Mesa Refuge Writing Residency, 2020 - A residency in lineage of “writers who are changing the conversation around nature, economic equity and social justice.”
Fellow, Boards & Commission Leadership Institute, 2020
Delegate to the UN Climate Change Conferences, 2015, 2016, 2021, 2022
Fellow, Spiritual Ecology, 2016
Alum, The International Youth Initiative Program, 2014
Praise for my Work
“The week with Kailea has been a real eye opener for me. Never before have I considered to ask the land I find myself on permission if I am welcome there. In this globalized world, we are used to traveling easily and only ask for permission in the official ways created by humans, through visas and passports. During this week, I moved from the question,“Do I want to be where I am?" to "Can I actually be where I am?” “Am I welcome on this land?" Working with the various practices Kailea introduced, I felt the most grounded since I arrived in YIP and I am impressed by how profoundly this course impacted me, not from just words, but from an embodied experience.”