Carrigan Tallio is from the Nuxalk Nation, an Indigenous community located in what is now referred to as Bella Coola, BC. She is 25 years old and comes from one of the families that has started the work of cultural revitalization in the community. Her father, Chief Nanus, holds the hereditary chieftainship for the Nappie family on his maternal side. Carrigan was the first chief’s daughter to bring back Ts’ktalclayc, Coming of Age Ceremony. Five years later, she went through the alhtl’us (initiation), after which dances connected to her names were brought out for the first time in generations.
After high school, Carrigan attended the University of Victoria, but her interests shifted the following year and she attended the Level One Carpentry program offered in Bella Coola through Camosun College. Carrigan reached her Level Two Carpentry designation and worked for two years on housing construction projects on reserve. Carrigan then began working for Nuxalk Administration while simultaneously completing the First Nations Housing Manager Certificate program through Vancouver Island University. Carrigan has worked for Nuxalk Nation housing since 2018 for and is always looking for ways to improve housing on reserve. She is passionate about finding ways to enrich the lives of people living on reserve in hopes that everyone can achieve their own Stl’mstaliwa, the full human experience.