Joel Persaud

Background

About Joel Persaud

Kwe’ kwe’! I’m a proud Epekwitnewaq Mi’kmaw & Amazonian with ancestral roots connecting me to Lennox Island FN in L’nui Mnikuk (PEI, Canada), as well a member of the Wapishana and Lokono-Arawak tribal nations of north-east Amazonia (Amazonas State, Brazil). My traditional spirit name Jyekhwaå’ (translating to “Descendant of the Acarai Essequibo”) was gifted to me in ceremony in legacy of my late grandfather—a Wapishana tribal chief whose name translated to “Leader of the Acarai Essequibo.” I am a first-generation university graduate and passionate Indigenous policy researcher, with interests in Indigenous policy reform, Indigenous land and language preservation, curriculum decolonization, Indigenizing healthcare, and medical research.