Meet Shay Paul, The Wren’s new reporter

Weyt-k xwexweytep, Shay Paul ren skwekwst. Te Tk’emlups re st̓7é7kwen.

Hello everyone, my name is Shay Paul and Tk’emlups is my home. I was born and raised under the shadow of Mount Paul on the Tk’emlups reserve, and grew up with one foot in my culture, and the other foot in Western academia. I’ve been involved in many different projects in my short life, so perhaps for some readers this is less of an introduction and more of a greeting into the next chapter of my life.

As an Indigenous artist, storytelling is a part of everything that I do. Though I have no formal training or experience in journalism, I am excited to be joining the team at The Wren to pursue something I’m incredibly passionate about: telling local, community-based stories that are important to the people living in the Kamloops area. 

Over the last few years I’ve been involved with several community-based initiatives, and my studying at Thompson Rivers University resulted in the opportunity for me to travel to places like Kasabonika Lake First Nation, Wapepeka First Nation, Deh Gáh Got’îê First Nation and Aotearoa (New Zealand). Alongside travelling and learning from diverse communities, I’ve also had the opportunity to receive mentorship and publish my first academic research paper through the university. My main areas of academic focus have been in sociology and agricultural sciences, and the merging of the two has made me start looking to understand each person’s relationship with the land. 

When I enter a community, it’s always with the mindset of “how can I help this community reach their goals, and what will my impact be to them?”

All of my work has been guided and informed by the people I am working beside, whether it be hosting public forums, one-on-one discussions or small group activities, it all stems from the process of listening to the current needs and working towards meeting them. 

After travelling across Canada to learn from other Indigenous communities and their journey with food sovereignty and food security, I brought that knowledge back to Kamloops where I had my first personal experience with The Wren, being interviewed by Lyssa about local projects during the summer of 2022.

Like many people growing up in the Kamloops area may have felt at some point, I thought the only way to advance my personal and artistic career was to move somewhere else. It wasn’t until I had the opportunity to work in other communities – other provinces – that I realised that wasn’t true. Tk’emlups kept calling me back, and I decided that if Kamloops didn’t have the infrastructure for me to thrive in my career, then I would need to be a part of the process to change that.

Aside from my academic interests, I am also an artist. Art and creativity are perhaps the most important aspect of my life. I’ve been drawing and painting for as long as I’ve had the ability to hold a pencil, and I’ve been entirely self-taught.

My art helps me connect with the world around me, especially when I am working with environmental and botanical pieces. I’ve been using my artwork as a way to learn about medicinal plants in the area. So not only am I creating something beautiful, but I can learn more about the plant and share its story with others.

Over the last few years, I’ve worked with several different organisations within arts and culture in Kamloops, which has resulted in me being deeply involved in lots of local events and festivals. Aside from my personal involvement, I also founded a local grassroots art collective called the Indigenous Resurgence Project, which focuses on supporting and showcasing Indigenous artists from across the B.C. Southern Interior. Through this project, I started getting into doing community interviews and artist profile articles, wanting to learn more about the artists who are operating in the region and what they wanted to see in ways of support and representation. 

Operating the Indigenous Resurgence Project, I stepped into more of an advocacy role for local emerging artists. I currently sit on the City of Kamloops’ Arts & Culture Engagement Board and also represent the Thompson-Okanagan as the Regional Board Member for Arts BC. 

Working with all of these different people and making connections not only through the city but through the region fills me with passion. I love being in the know about what is going on in Kamloops, and can frequently be found mulling about at events and festivals. Much to the dismay of my friends and family, it can be a challenge making it from one side of the room to the other without stopping to speak to at least three people. 

I am looking forward to this next chapter in my life and all of the new stories and interesting community topics I will come to learn more about. Maybe next time I’m trying to make my way across the room, it will be one of you I stop to talk to. 

Kukwstsetsemc, and I look forward to talking about what makes Kamloops important to you!