Maria (Deer clan) is a member of the Mam Jakaltec/Popti (Mayan) community of Indigenous people who reside in the Xajla territory of Guatemala. Her father named her Autelohomitza which means a tiny bird of a good mind (itza) that stands at the tallest tree and when the bird sings the other animals are able to find food for nourishment. Twenty-five years ago, Maria and her family came to Canada as refugees and settled in Toronto. Maria holds a bachelors degree in History, Women Studies and Indigenous Studies from McMaster University, as well as a Social Work diploma from First Nations Technical Institute. In addition to her formal schooling, Maria has been mentored from a young age by various Elders, Medicine people and Traditional Teachers on Turtle Island and from Central and South America. Maria has had the privilege of being exposed and participating in various ceremonies and traditional cultural practices that have fueled her passion to develop programming that will bridge the Newtonian/allopathic model of wellness and an Indigenous/multi-dimensional approach. Maria currently facilitates the R.E.A.L School Youth Leadership and Native Wilderness Survival Skills Development program in various Indigenous communities throughout Canada and the United States and is currently working on running the program in San Lucas Guatemala, Hawaii and Pretoria South Africa. R.E.A.L Schools curriculum is an Indigenous culturally based life skills program that aims to support youth in reconnecting to their authentic self (spirit) and to teach them the life skill of processing their varied life experiences at the level of the body. Maria recently worked as a youth mental health and addictions worker for Native Child and Family Services of Toronto and is currently the manager of Dodem Kanonhsa Aboriginal Cultural Facility in Toronto.