Gidin Jaad (Eagle Woman) Erica Jean Reid follows her matrilineal lineage of her mother Carol Crosby, and is born to the Naay ‘Yuwans X̱aaydag̱a (the Big House People) clan of Skidegate B.C. on Haida Gwaii. Erica honours her patrilineal lineage of her father William (Butch) Ryan who is Tsimshian from the community of Lax Kw’alaams B.C. She is a proud wife and mother of four children. It was her first pregnancy that led her to studying the Haida language which inspired pursuing her teaching credentials at the University of Northern British Columbia to be an elementary school teacher enrolled in a Bachelor of Education Program in Terrace B.C. She is a proud Haida and Tsimshian woman who cares deeply for her children, family, communities and nations. She believes wholeheartedly in the healing power of learning the X̱aayda Kil and Sm’algya̱x languages and the importance of sharing Haida and Tsimshian ways of knowing to indigenize classrooms.