Avery Velez na Mi’kmaw aqq Portuguese. Tleyawit Elmastukwek Ktaqmkuk aqq wetapeksit pkite’snuk Nujio’qonik, pkite’snuk Ktaqmkuk, aqq Portugal.

Avery Velez is mixed Mi’kmaw and Portuguese from what is now known as the Bay of Islands (Corner Brook) on the west coast of Newfoundland with roots in Bay St. George South (Robinson’s, NL), the south coast of Newfoundland (Isle aux Morts), and Portugal.

Avery received his Bachelor of Social Sciences in International Development and Globalization from the University of Ottawa, a Master of Arts in Environmental Policy from Memorial University of Newfoundland’s Grenfell Campus, and is currently working towards a PhD in Transdisciplinary Sustainability, also at Grenfell. Avery has worked in government, non-profits, and academia focusing on a range of issues including Indigenous sovereignty and self-governance, fisheries policy, equity and social justice, and climate change.

Avery is a lifelong learner, committed to understanding, unpacking, and helping to heal his community’s complex history and connections with the land, people, and other kin species in Ktaqmkuk (Newfoundland) and the rest of Mi’kma’ki.