Gwen Hamilton lives in Kanà:tsio (Ottawa), on unceded Algonquin, Anishinabewaki, and Haudenosaunee territory. They have Irish, French, Scottish and Kanien’kehá:ka (Mohawk) ancestry, but they are disconnected from these communities. Since September 2019, Gwen has been working to reconnect with their Kanien’kehá:ka roots, learning Kanien’kéha, and learning about culture, history, and stories from their grandmother.
Gwen has experience working with children and youth as an educator. They have worked as a Teaching Assistant at the University of Ottawa, volunteered as a TA and French tutor for a local elementary school, and taught English to university students in Ukraine. Gwen has a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Ottawa, and a Master’s of Arts from the National University of Ireland Galway. They are passionate about learning new languages. But, they struggle to focus on one at a time. As a result, while they have spent time learning 16 languages, they can only speak English, French, and Irish (Gaeilge) with relative fluency.
Gwen also enjoys reading fantasy and sci-fi books, beading, creating digital art, and watching Netflix. They have two dogs, named Max and Keeka, and two cats, Spark and Nova.
