Khelsilem is a Sḵwx̱wú7mesh-Kwakwa̱ka’wa̱kw educator, artist, writer, and public speaker on issues of Indigenous languages, cultural identity, and governance. He was born and raised in his Skwo-mesh homelands on the North Shore of Vancouver. For five years he has been involved in a social, political and cultural movement to reclaim nearly extinct Indigenous languages in British Columbia. To advance the work of language reviatlization he founded Kwi Awt Stelmexw (KAS Cultural Society) a not-for-profit that creates art and education programs to strengthen the language and culture of the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh peoples. He was a lecturer at Simon Fraser University in the Squamish Language Proficiency Certificate Program and is currently an elected Council member and spokesperson of the Squamish Nation.