Hay čxʷ q̓ə, my name is Brenda Fernie and I am a Kwantlen First Nation member and reside in Surrey, BC. I work for the economic arm of my nation called Seyem’ Qwantlen. My role in my community is Vice-President of the business group, where I oversee 160 employees.
I am a direct descendant of Grand Chief Wattlekainum, whom met Simon Fraser’s expedition in New Westminster in 1808. Wattlekainum and the Kwantlen people relocated to Fort Langley, BC to seek protection with the Hudson’s Bay company from island nations.
My mother carries Wattlekainum’s daughters name qweylseyt, whom married James Ralph Elkins, an American Indian from Missouri. Together they had a daughter whom married William Henry Emptage Junior where they settled and had children at the site of Trinity Western University, in Langley, BC. William Henry Emptage Junior’s mother was the daughter of a Musqueam Chief with a traditional name of Mooskum Poki (Point family). The Emptage family were homesteaders at Trinity Western and the site remained with the family for a number of generations.
I am honored to be enrolled at Trinity Western, a site my grandmother was born at and called home. I hope to make my ancestors proud by putting reconciliation into action and achieving my Master’s Degree with Trinity Western.
All my relations,
Brenda Fernie