Cecil Paul is an elder of the Killer Whale Clan of the Henaaksiala people. Born and raised in the Kitlope, Cecil was taken to residential school when he was ten. Since then his life has been a rich tapestry of experience that, combined with his incredible spirit, has made him one of the wisest people we know.

Cecil was a key player in the fight to preserve the Kitlope Heritage Conservancy as a park (it is now the largest intact temperate rainforest on the planet). He was also instrumental in the long search for a lost pole taken from the Kitlope estuary in the early 1900s and returned to his people in 2006.

A leader in his community, Cecil teaches the youth of Kitamaat about the Huchsduwachsdu (Gardner Canal), Kemaano and the Kitlope, and we are honoured that he has travelled with us into the Kitlope each year.