Caught in immigration mess, U.S.-born Tsimshian teacher fights to stay in ancestral territory

Mique’l Dangeli teaches students how to bake salmon fins. Dangeli moved to British Columbia to teach Tsimshian culture in her ancestors’ traditional territory, but faces an immigration fight to live and work in Canada. (Photo courtesy Mique’l Dangeli)

When the homelands of indigenous groups straddle the border between U.S. and Canada, traveling back-and-forth becomes an immigration issue. You might think the countries would have similar policies, but it isn’t that easy.

One U.S.-born Tsimshian teacher is caught in the mess, fighting to legally stay and work in her ancestral homeland in British Columbia.

​Mique’l Dangeli teaches the Tsimshian language — Sm’algya̱x — to children and adults, including at a school in Kitsumkalumm, British Columbia. (Read more at ktoo.org)