Rocky James

Inherent Rights Fellow

Rocky James is from the Penelakut Tribe, part of the broader Coast Salish Nation. Rocky carries three ancestral names which are Qwtiis (Qwuh-tees), Siimultun (Sea-muhl-tun), and Thiyaustun (Thii-auhs-tun).

Rocky has a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Indigenous/Hwul’muxw/Hwul’muhw Studies from Vancouver Island University and a Master of Arts Degree in Studies in Policy and Practice from the Faculty of Human & Social Development at the University of Victoria. Rocky is also enrolled in the Doctor of Social Sciences Program at Royal Roads University, embarking on a personal journey to further his understanding and contribute to the field of Indigenous social science. His research title is Standing Two-Spirit People Up in Their Strengths Through Two-Spirit Human Development. His research question is, how does Indigenous language learning affect Two-Spirit human development?

Rocky is also an instructor in the Faculty of Indigenous/Hwul’muxw/Hwul’muhw Studies at Vancouver Island University. When he’s not nerding hard, he likes to go for jogs, the gym, and martial arts classes.